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USEFL'L WORKS M THE PEOPLE... NO. VI. 






lii-ii;iili.:uii;!iiilli:illiltinii;M;ii!iilliiiiliiltlllllllimilllllllll' 'li! 

THE 



d* y 



SILK CULTURE 




WITH 



?5l' ♦SI 

Xm HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE SILK BUSINESS 

EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES j 

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SILK.WORM, 
MULBERRY TREE, &c. 

WITH NUMEROUS EN0RAVIN08. 






NEW.YORK: 

GREELEY & McELRATH, TRIBUNE BUILDINGS. 

PHlLADKLPHIA s G. B. ZEJBER. 

CINCINNATI: W. H. MOORE & CO. 

NEW-GRLEANS : NORMAN, STEELE & CO. 



1844. 




PRICE TWENTY-tfiVE CEMS. 










i-rlv;;<i;:;\i- ^=^>J,Lvi^^f/.-v -X?^v-v5.'V"" ■ * t~J.^wS'^V^S7i5*^®^^^i\3**S*i. ,(W5^*^»E 



USEFUL BOOKS FOR THE PEOPLE. 

PublisJied by Greeley &- McElrath, and for /sale by Booksellers generally. 



NO. I TRAVELS IN THE GREAT WESTERN PRAIRIES, 

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26 ceutt ; fire copiei for $1. 



NO. II ELLSWORTH'S REPORT. 

The ImproTements in AGRICULTURE, the ARTS, Sic. in llie United States ; being an aecovtit 
of recent and important discoveries and improrements in the mode of bnilding Houses, miking Fenrcs, 
raising Grain, making Pork, disposing of Hogs, making I.ard Oil, raising Silk, with engravings of 
improved Ploughs and other Agricultur?.! Implements, &c. By Hon. H. L. EllstvoriH, Commii- 
sioner of Patent*. And a Treatise on AGiUCULTURAL GEOLOGY. Price 25 cents ; five colics 
foijl. 



NO. Ill DR. LARDNER'S LECTURES. 

The Third Edition of Doctor Lardnei's complete Course of Lectures, delivered at Niblo's Silnon 
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allied by A t— S ientific Discoveries— Sound— Vibratic us of the Retina— Voltaic Battery— StMm 
E iiciues of Kngland and America. This edition of Dr. Lardner's Lectures is introduced by a 
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Oi the L iwso! thi- Formotio . of National Wealth, Developed by means of the Christian LaWof Gov- 
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Economy, and the Adaptation of its Principle-s to the Condition of onr own Country, and the upbuild- 
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NO. VI A POPULAR TREATISE ON THE CULTURE OF SILK, 

With directions for th« treatme:it of the Silk-Worm, t!ie management of the Nursery, the mimifae- 
tuieef Raw Silk, the Machinery, the Expenses', Outlays, &.c. &,c^ &c. Prepared from tue beslau- 
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NO. VII POPULAR LECTURES ON ASTRONOMY. 

Beiig a Course of Lectnies delivered at the Royal Observatory of Paris, by M. Abaoo, Mem- 
ber of ihf I islitute of France, &c. Tianslated, with notes, by Walter R. Kellst, Esq., of Trinity 
Colltge, Dublin. With numerous engravings. Price 26 cents. 

GREELEY & McELRATH, Tribune Buildings, New- York. 





THE 




SILK CULTURE 



UNITED STATES: 

EMBRACING 

COMPLETE ACCOUNTS OF THE LATEST AND MOST APPROVED MODES OF 

HATCHING, REARING AND FEEDING THE SILK-WORM, 

MANAGING A COCOONERY, REELING, SPINNING, 

AND MANUFACTURING THE SILK, &c. &c. &c. 

WITH 

BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE SILK BUSINESS, 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SILK- WORM, THE MULBERRY, &c. 

COMPILED FROM THE MOST APPROVED AND RELIABLE WORKS, 

ILLUSTRATED BY 

NUMEROUS ENGRATOGS OP MACHINERY AND PROCESSES. 

TO WHICH 13 ADDHD 

BLYDENBURGHS MANUAL OF THE SILK CULTURE.; 
STATISTICS OF SILK IMPORTS, &c. &c. 



"■?■ 



\j'A 



NEW-YORK : 
GREELEY & McELRATH, TRIBUNE OTFICE, 

ISO Naesaa-street. 

1844. 



Sf"575 



Entered according te the Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by 
GREELEY & McELRATH, 
the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New-YorU. 






ADVERTISEMENT. 



The rapid yet steady growth of the Culture 
and Manufacture of Silk in the United States is 
a subject of profound interest and gratification to 
the Philanthropist and the Patriot, Whenever 
they shall be so extended and perfected that we 
as a people become exporters instead of importers 
of Silk, a vast improvement in the condition of 
the classes wliich now subsist on the meagre wa- 
ges of light and simple labor, such as Sewing, 
&c., cannot fail to be realized. 

But this great National good has thus far been 
approached often through individual disappoint- 
ment and loss. Men of rare enterprise, indomi- 
table energy and abundant means, have rushed 
into the Silk-culture only to encounter misfortune 
and pecuniary ruin. The great obstacle to their 
ready success has been the want of adequate 
knowledge of the new business in wliich they so 
eagerly embarked. Individuals have sacrificed 
thousands and given up the business in despair, 
when the knowledge of a few simple facts, cost- 
ing only a few shillings and a few hours' study, 
had they but known their need and where to look 
for a remedy, would have secured their persever- 
ance in the work and a competent reward for 
their toil. 

The work herewith submitted to the public, is 
intended to meet the necessity already indicated. 
It has been prepared at the instance of several ar- 
dent, intelligent pioneers in the Silk Culture, 
with the aid of Mr. I. R. Barbour, whose famil- 
iarity with and success in the business are widely 
known. It is intended not to embody the experi- 



ence and the maxims of any one, however emi- 
ncnt for skill, science or good fortune, but to 
draw from various sources and present within the 
smallest compass all that may be tauglit through 
books, of the nature and conditions of the Silk 
Culture, so as to call into exercise not merely the 
memory but the understanding and the judgement 
of the reader. In this view, we have deemed 
perfect consistency and coherence between the sev- 
eral facts less essential than it may seem to many ; 
since the same treatment throughout may very 
naturally be less adapted to some than to others 
of the various climates, soils, tfcc, of our wide- 
spread country. We do not doubt that nearly 
if not quite every one of the many varieties of the 
Mulberry may be wisely preferred in some par- 
ticular location within the United States. 

Aside from the assistance of Mr. Barbour, we 
have freely profited by the article on Silk in Dr. 
Ure's eminent Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, 
Mr. Bliss's Report on Silk two years since to 
the Legislature of Ohio, Mr. Colman's Report to 
the Massachusetts Legislature, &c. ; while we 
have quoted entire the Silk Manual of the late 
Mr. Blydenburgh. As it contains very little of 
our own, we may say without vanity that this 
book embodies a larger amount of useful informa- 
tion on Silk than any one hitherto published. Is 
it too much, then, to hope that this work will not 
merely secure the approbation of those already 
interested in silk, but that it will induce large ad- 
ditions to their number ? 

New-York, November, 1843. 



THE SILK CULTUEE. 



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HISTORY 



OF 



THE SILK CULTURE, &a 



CHAPTER I. 

The Silkworm — Gene7-al Remarks on the Production of 
Silk — General view of the Nursery. 

The silk worm, called by entomologists Pha- 
Icena bombyx mori, is, like its kindred species, 
subject to four metamorphoses.* f The egg, foster- 
ed by the genial warmth of sprihg, sends forth a 
caterpillar, which, in its progressive enlargement, 
casts its skin either three or four times, according 
to the variety of the insect. Having acquired its 
full size in the course of twenty-five or thirty 
days, and ceasing to eat during the remainder of its 
life, it begins to discharge a viscid secretion, in 
the form of pulpy twin filaments, from its nose, 
which harden in the air. These threads are in- 
stinctively coiled into an ovid nest round itself, 
called a cocoon, which serves as a defence against 
living enemies and changes of temperature. 
Here it soon changes into the chrysaUs or nymph 
state, in which it lies swaddled, as it were, for 
about fifteen or twenty days.. Then it bursts its 
cerements, and comes forth furnished with appro- 
priate wings, antenntp, and feet, for living in its 
new element, the atmosphere. The male and the 
female moths couple together at this time, and 
terminate their union by a speedy death, their 
whole existence being limited to two months. 
The cocoons are completely formed in the eourse 
of three or four days ; the finest being reserved 
as seed worms. From these cocoons, after an in- 
terval of eighteen or twenty days, the moth 
makes its appearance, perforating its tomb by 
knocking with its head against one end of the 
cocoon, after softening it with saliva, and thus 

* Ure's Dictionaiy of Arts, &c. 



rendering the filaments more easily torn asunder 
by its claws. Such moths or aurelias are collected 
and placed upon a piece of soft cloth, where they 
couple and lay their eggs. 

The eggs, or grains, as they arc usually termed, 
are enveloped in a liquid which causes them to 
adhere to the piece of cloth or paper on which the 
female lays them. From this glue they are 
readily freed, by dipping them in cold water, and 
wiping them dry. They are best preserved in the 
ovum state at a temperature of about 55° F. If 
the heat of spring advances rapidly in April, it 
must not be suffered to act on the eggs, other- 
wise it might hatch the caterpillars long before 
the mulberry has sent forth its leaves to nourish 
them. Another reason for keeping back their 
incubation is, that they may be hatched together 
in large broods, and not by small numbers in suc- 
cession. The eggs are made up into small pack- 
ets^f an ounce, or somewhat more, which in the 
souui of France are generally attached to the 
girdles of the women during the day, and placed 
under their pillows at night. /They are, of course^ 
carefully examined from time to time. In larg« 
establishments, they are placed in an appropriate 
stove-room where they arc exposed to a tempera- 
tare gradually increased till it reaches the 86th 
degree of Fahrenheit's scale, which term it must 
not exceed. Aided by this heat, nature completes 
her mysterious work of incubation in eight or ten 
days. The teeming eggs eire now covered with 
a sheet of paper pierced with numerous holes, 
about one twelfth of an inch in diameter. Through 
these apertures tlie new hatched worms creep up- 
weird instinctively, to get at the tender mulberry 
leaves strewed over the paper. ) 



History and Culture of Silk. 



Besides the Bombyx mori, there are seven 
species of silkworm, formerly unknown, enume- 
rated by Dr. Heifer as existing in India :* 1. The 
wild silkworm of the central provinces, a moth 
not larger than the Bombyx mori. 2. The Jorcc 
silkwonn of Assam, Bombyx religiosa;, which 
spins a cocoon of a fine filament, with much lus- 
tre. It lives upon the pipul tree {Ficiis religi. 
osa), which abounds in India, and ought therefore 
to be turned to account in breeding this valuable 
moth. 3. Saturnia silihetica, which inhabits 
the cassia mountains in Silhet and Dacca, where 
its large cocoons are spun into silk. 4. A still 
larger Saturnia, one of the greatest moths in ex- 
istence, measuring ten inches from the one end of 
the wing to the other ; observed by Mr. Grant, 
in Chira punjee. 5. Saturnia paphia, or the 
Tusseh silkworm, is the most common of the 
native species, and furnishes the cloth usually 
worn by Europeans in India. It has not hitherto 
been domesticated, but millions of its cocoons are 
annually collected in the jungles, and brought to 
the silk factories near Calcutta and Bhagelpur. 
It feeds most commonly on the hair tree {Zizy- 
pkusjujuba), but it prefers the Terminalia alata, 
or Assam tree, and the Bombax heptaphillum 
It is called Kouthuri mooga, in Assam. 6. An- 
other Saturnia, from the neighborhood of Comcr- 
colly. 7. Saturnia assamensis, with a cocoon 
of a yellow-brown color, different from all others, 
called mooga, in Assam ; which, although it can 
be reared in houses, thrives best in the open air 
upon trees, of which seven different kinds afford 
it food. The Mazankoory mooga, which feeds on 
the Adakoory tree, produces a fine silk, which is 
nearly white, and fetches fifty per cent, more than 
the fawn colored. There are generally five 
breeds of mooga worms in the year ; 1. in Janu- 
ary and February ; 2. in May and June ; 3. in 
June and July; 4. in August and September; 
5. in October and November ; the first and last 
being the most valuable. 

The management of the worms, and more par- 
ticular directions for the Nursery will be given in 
a subsequent part of the work, but in order to 
render what follows intelligible to the general 
reader, we here give a very general view of the 
operations of the Nursery, as conducted in France 
at the present time. 

The nursery where the wonns are reared is 
called by the French a jnagnaniire ;t it ought 
to be a well-aired chamber, free from damp, ex- 
cess of cold or heat, rats, and other vermin. It 
should be ventilated occasionally, to purify the 
atmosphere from the noisome emanations pro- 
duced by the excrements of the caterpillars and 
the decayed leaves. The scaffolding of the 
wicker work shelves should be substantial; and 
they should be from fifteen to eighteen inches 
apart. A separate small apartment should be 
allotted to the sickly worms. Immediately before 
each moulting, the appetite of the worms begins 
to flag ; it ceases altogether at that period of cu- 
taneous metamorphosis, but revives speedily after 
the skin is fairly cast, because the internal parts 
of the animal are thereby allowed freely to de- 
velope themselves. At the end of the second 
age, the worms are half an inch long ; and then 

* Ure's Dietioatry. f Ibid, 



should be transferred from the small room in 
which they were first hatched, into the proper 
apartment where they are to be brought to matu- 
rity and set to spin their balls. On occasion of 
changing their abode, they must be well cleansed 
from the littter, laid upon beds of fresh leaves, 
and supplied with an abundance of food every 
six hours in succession. In shifting their bed, 
a piece of network being laid over the wicker 
plates, and covered with leaves, the worms will 
creep up over them ; when they may be transfer- 
red in a body upon the net. The litter, as well 
as the sickly worms, may thus be readily removed, 
without handling a single healthy one. After the 
third age, they may be fed with entire leaves ; 
because they are nov/ exceedingly voracious, and 
must not be subsequently stinted in tlieir diet. 
The exposure of chloride of lime, spread thin 
upon plates, to the air of the magnanicre, has 
been found useful in counteracting the tendencj' 
which sometimes appears of an epidemic disease 
among the silkworms, from the fetid exhalations 
of the dead and dying. 

When they have ceased to eat, either in the 
fcrtirth or fifth age, agreeably to the variety of the 
boinbyx, and when they display the spinning in- 
stinct by crawling up among the twigs of heath, 
&c., they are not long of beginning to construct 
their cocoons, by throwing the thread in differ- 
ent directions, so as to form the floss, filoselle, or 
outer open network, which constitutes the bourre 
or silk for carding and spinning. 

The cocoons destined for filature, must not be 
allowed to remain for many days with the worms 
alive within them ; for should the chrysalis have 
leisure to grow mature or come out, the filaments 
at one end would be cut through, and thus lose 
almost all their value. It is therefore necessary 
to extinguish the life of the animal by heat, 
which is done either by exposing the cocoons for 
a few days to sunshine, by placing them in a hot 
oven, or in the steam of boiling water. A heat 
of 202" F. is sufficient for effecting this purpose, 
and it may be best administered by plunging tin 
cases filled with the cocoons into water heated to 
that pitch. 

Eighty pounds French (eighty-eight English) 
of cacoons, arc the average produce from one 
ounceof eggs, or one hundred from one ounce and 
a quarter. The silk obtained from a cocoon is from 
seven hundred fifty to one thousand one hundred 
fifty feet long. The varnish by which the coils 
are glued slightly together, is soluble in warm 
water. 

The silk husbandry, as it may be called, is 
completed in France within six weeks from the 
end of April, and thus affords the most rapid of 
agricultural returns, requu'ing merely (he advance 
of a little capital for the purchase of the leaf. 

The most hazardous period in the process 
of breeding the worms, is at the third and fourth 
moulting; for upon the sixth day of the third 
age, and the seventh day of the fourth, they in 
general ^at nothing at all. On the first day of 
the fourth age, the worms proceeding from one 
ounce of eggs will, according to Bonafons, con- 
sume upon an average twenty-three pounds and 
a quarter of mulberry leaves ; on tlie first of the 
fifth age, they will consume forty-two pounds; 
and on the sixth day of the same age, they ac- 



History and Culture of Silk. 



quire their maximum voracity, devouring no less 
than two hundred twenty-three pounds. From 
this date their appetite continually decreases, till 
on the tenth day of this age they consume only 
fifty-six pounds. The space which tliey occupy 
upon the wicker tables, being at their birth only 
nine feet square, becomes eventually two hundred 
thirty-nine feet. In general, the more food they 
consume, the more silk will they produce. 



CHAPTER II. 

Early liislory of Silk — Introduction into Europe — Into 
'the- United States. 

The earliest mention that is made of silk,* is in 
the translation of the Bible, by Jerome, who 
speaks of it as one among the articles which the 
Phoenicians imported from Syria. The exceeding 
beauty of the fabric rendered it particularly at- 
tractive to mankind, wherever it was known. It 
was brought, for a long time, by traders from 
China, in caravans, through the sands and deserts 
of Asia to the ports of Syria and Egypt. -, The 
distance which it was brought, and the cokse- 
quent difficulty of procuring it in large quantities, 
made it very expensive. Dionysius Periegetes, 
the geographer, who was sent by Augustus to 
compile an account of the Oriental regions, gave 
to his countrymen the astonisjiing information 
that precious garments were made by the Seres, 
the inhabitants of what is now Bucharia, from 
threads finer than those of the spider. And 
among all the gorgeous displays made by the re- 
nowned and luxurious Cleopatra, none excited so 
strongly the admiration, the unmixed astonish- 
ment of the people, as the silk sails of her pleasure 
bark. 

For centuries, the silk trade was monopolized 
by the Persians. When they were subdued by 
Alexander, the commodity was brought to Greece, 
and thence to Rome. The anxiety of the Romans 
to trade directly with the producers of this cos^y 
material, induced the emperor, Marcus Antt^imus, 
to send embassadors to their country te negotiate 
a direct commercial intercourse wil^ them. 

Soon after Justinian ascended the throne, he 
sent Julian as his ambassador to the Christian 
King of Axuma, in Aby.«taia, appealing to him 
that, for the sake of ♦<'icir common religion, he 
would assist him i"-- war with Persia, and direct 
his subjects to *uy silks in India and .sell them 
to the Rom.-»iis, by which means the Axumites 
would acefuire great wealth, and the Romans 
would have the satisfaction of paying their money 
to their friends, instead of to their Persian enemies. 

But the culture of silk was finally introduced 
into Europe, in a singular manner. The preach- 
ers of the Nestorian religion, having been perse- 
cuted by the Ecclesiastical Government at home, 
fled from Byzantium into India. Their Patriarch, 
who resided in Persia, sent missionaries abroad, 
and established convents in various parts of India. 
Two of his monks, who had been employed as 
missionaries, penetrated into the country where 
silk was produced and manufactured, and became 
acquainted with its culture, and the art of manu- 
facturing it into elegant fabrics. Knowing the 



^ R«portof Mr. Bliss to the Legislature of Ohio. 



anxiety of the Europeans to possess this knowl- 
edge, they imparted the secret to the Emperor 
Justinian, that silk was produced by a species of 
worm, whose eggs could easily be transported. 
By the promise of a great reward, they were in- 
duced to return, and they carried safely to Con- 
stantinople a quantity of silk worms' ecrgs, in the 
hollow of a. cane ; and the worms from these few 
eggs, thus brought from India, may properly bo 
considered the progenitors of all that have since 
been reared in Europe or Western Asia. From 
this the culture gradually spread over different 
parts of Europe ; but the use of it was still con- 
fined to the courts of Emperors and Kings, and 
to the wealthier classes of the people. And it was 
not until in the sixteenth century that the culture 
and manufacture became so extensive as to war- 
rant any thing like a common use of it ; and even 
then, it was, comparativel}', used but by few. 

About 11.30, Roger II., king of Sicily, set up 
a silk manufacture at Palermo,* and another in 
Calabria, conducted by artisans whom he had 
seized and carried off as prisoners of war in his 
expedition to the Holy Land. From these coun- 
tries, the silk industry soon spread throughout 
Italy. It seems to have been introduced into 
Spain at a very early period, by the Moors, par. 
ticularlyin Murcia, Cordova, and Granada. The 
last town, indeed, possessed a flourishing silk 
trade when it was taken by Ferdinand in the 
15th century. The French having been supplied 
with workmen from Milan, commenced in 1521 
the silk manufacture; but it 'v^as not till 1564 
that they began successfuUj to produce the silk 
itself, when Traucat, a working gardner at Nis- 
mes, formed the firsj* nursery of white mulberry 
trees, and with su'^h success, that in a few years 
he was enabW to propagate them over many of 
the southern provinces of France. Prior to this 
time, sp^ne French noblemen, on their return from 
the <;onquest of Naples, had introduced a few 
fiiikworms with tiie mulberry into Dauphiny ; but 
the business iiad not prospered in their hands. 
The mulberry plantations were greatly en- 
couraged by Henry IV.; and since then they 
have been the source of most beneficial employ- 
ment to the French people. 

James I. was most solicitous to introduce the 
breeding of silkworms into England, and in a 
speech from the throne he earnestly recommend- 
ed his subjects to plant mulberry trees ; but he 
totally failed in the project. This country does 
not seem to be well adapted for this species of 
husbandry, on account of the great prevalence of 
blighting east winds duiing the months of April 
and May, when the worms require a plentiful 
supply of mulberry leaves. The manufacture of 
silk goods, however, made great progress during 
that king's peaceful and pompous reign. In 1629 
it had become so considerable in London, that 
the silk-throwstcrs of the city and suburbs were 
formed into a public corporation. So early as 
1661, they employed 40,000 persons. The revo- 
cation of the edict of Nantes, in 1685, contribu- 
ted in a remarkable manner to the increase of the 
English silk trade, by the influx of a large colony 
of skilful French weavers, who settled in Spital- 
fields. The great silk-throwing mill mounted at 
Derby, in 1719, also served to promote the exten. 

^ Urt's Dictionary of Arts, &c. I 



8 



History and Culture of Silk. 



sion of this branch of manufacture ; for soon 
afterward, in the year 1730, the EngUshsilk goods 
bore a higher price in Italy than those made by 
the Italians, according to the testimony of 
Keysler. 

PRODUCTION OF SILK IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Theproductionof silk in the United States* has 
been repeatedly brought before the public ; and pre- 
sented in various forms as a subject of general 
interest to the agricultural community. When 
the State of Georgia was settled, silk and wine 
were recommended as particular objects of cul- 
ture. In Virginia measures were taken as early 
as 1663 to encourage the general production of 
silk ; and the failure to plant mulberry trees at 
the rate of ten for every hundred acres, was made 
by the laws a penal offence. In 1760, the society 
in London for the encouragement of arts, manu- 
factures, and commerce, offered liberal premiums 
for the production of silk in Georgia, Pennsylva- 
nia, and Connecticut. " The society propose to 
give for every pound weight of cocoons produced 
in the Province of Connecticut in the year 1759, 
of an hard, weighty, and good substance, where- 
in one worm only has spun three pence; for 
every pound weight of cocoons of a weaker, 
lighter, spotted, or bruised quality, though 
only one worm has spun in them two pence ; 
for every pound of cocoons, produced in the same 
year, wherein two worms are interwoven, one 
penny. These premiums will be paid on condi- 
tion that a public filature be established in Con- 
necticut, and that eac\» person bring his or her 
balls to such public filaiore." This invitation, 
says Jared Eliot, in his remarkable essays on 
Field Husbandry in New England, is not to a 
business to which we are wholly stiangers ; it is 
not to an empty, airy, and untried pioject ; for 
there has been something of this manufactory 
carried on for sundry years, and by a number of 
our people in divers of our towns by which we 
are assured that it is practicable. As early as 
■ 1747, the governor of Connecticut, Mr. Law, 
} wore the first coat and stockings made of New- 
I England silk ; and in 1750, his daughter wore the 
first silk gown of domestic production. 

In an almanac of Nathaniel Ames, for the year 
1769, it seems the subject had been matter of 
much public discussion, and " a gentleman, whom 
posterity will bless, deposited one hundred dollars 
in the hands of the selectmen of Boston ; forty 
dollars to be given to the person, who in the year 
1771, shall have raised the greatest quantity of 
mulberry trees ; thirty dollars to him that shall 
have the next greatest number ; twenty to the 
next ; and ten to the next ; certificate being pro- 
duced from a justice of the peace of the number, 
and that they belong to Massackusetts Bay." It 
is added that, " Justinian, the emperor, looking 
upon it as a great hardship that his subjects should 
buy the manufacture of the Persians at so dear a 
rate as a pound of gold for a pound of silk, dis- 
patched two monks into India to discover and 
learn how the silk trade was managed there ; and 
to bring a quantity of those insects from whom 
he was informed the silk was produced, when they 
brought at a second voyage, great quantity of silk 



Colmaa's B«port od the Agricultore of MassachasetU. 



worms' eggs." This writer adds, •' It is but of 
late years that the Europeans fell into the way of 
cultivating any quantity of raw silk. The Ital- 
j ians led the way ; and they have been followed 
with great success by the French ; and the ad- 
vantages thereof to these nations are amazing, as 
they supply Great Britain with raw silk for the 
thousands of spinners and weavers constantly 
employed in Spitalfields. It being certain that 
raw silk is plentifully raised in much more north- 
ern climates than this, we have a most promising 
prospect of one day turning the constant course 
of prodigious sums of money from Spain, France, 
and Italy into America." 

It is further stated by Eliot, in 1762, " that by 
a late account from Georgia, it appears that the 
silk manufactory is in a flourishing way. In the 
year 1757, the weight of silk balls received at the 
filature, was only 1,050 ; last yearproduced 7,040, 
and this year about 10,000 ; and it is very re- 
markable that the raw silk exported from Georgia, 
sells at London from two to three shillings a pound 
more than that from any other part of the world." 
It is stated by President Stiles, that in 1762 Geor- 
gia exported to London 15,000 lbs. cocoons, deem- 
ed sufficient to make 1500 lbs. of silk. 

Other remarks of Eliot, considering the time 
when he wrote, are particularly deserving of at- 
tention. He commends especially the cultivation 
of silk to the northern colonies, " who are desti- 
tute of any staple commodity by which they could 
make an immediate and direct return to England, 
for such goods as we want, and must always want, 
more abundantly than we have means at present 
by which we can refund. This seems to be the 
state of Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut." 
The cultivation of the great staple of cotton was 
not pursued then to any extent in the Southern 
States. 

He goes on to say that, " those among us, who 
raise silk, say, that it is more profitable than other 
ordinary business. Some years past, I asked a 
">an of good faith and credit, who had then made 
the raost silk of any among us, what profit might 
be madt, of it. His reply was that he could make 
a yard of s\\\ as cheap as he could make a yard 
of linen cloth of eight run to the pound. A wo- 
man of experience in this business told me, that, 
in the short time of feeding the worm and wind- 
ing the silk balls, she coald earn enough to hire a 
good spinner the whole yt^r. I have not the 
least scruple of the informer's,veracity, but how 
far their capacity might serve for lan exact calcu- 
lation, I know not." 

" We labor under such difficulties to make re- 
turns for goods imported, that many have Uiought 
it would be best that we should make our own 
cloths and by this means lessen our importation, 
which indeed would be better than to run into an 
endless and irrecoverable debt ; but there is now 
a way opened by which, if we are not wanting to 
ourselves, we may not only continue but increase 
our importation, for if the same cost, labor, and 
time which we expend in making one yard of 
cloth, if laid out in raising silk will procure two 
yards of the same sort of cloth, and manufactured 
by more skilful hands, it is easy to see which is 
the most eligible method." 

In 1 772, as appears from the manuscript jour- 
nal of President Stiles of Yale College, his family 



History and Culture of Silk. 



9 



engaged, to some extent, in the culture of silk, 
and their production was sent to England to be 
manufactured, a sample of which cloth, presenting 
a singularly beautiful fabric, together with the 
journal itself, is now in my possession.* 

About the year 1770, a "filature was established 
in Philadelphia, and it is a remarkable fact tiiat 
from the 25th of June to the 15th of August 1771, 
two thousand three hundred pounds of cocoons 
were brought to the filature to be reeled, or were 
bought by the managers. These came from 
Pennsylvania, New-Jersey, and Delaware. t 

About the year 1760, the culture of silk was 
introduced into Mansfield, Conn., and some of 
the neighboring towns. It has been pursued ever 
since that time, to a small extent, in several other 
places in 'New-England ; but it cannot be said to 
have maintained its foothold in any other situa- 
tion than in Mansfield. In other places, where 
it planted itself with every favorable prospect of 
success, it presently expired. In Mansfield, 
Conn., it has continued to be pursued to the pre- 
sent time. The largest amount of raw reeled 
silk reported to have been produced in any one 
year in Mansfield, as was stated to me in that 
town, has been about seven thousand pounds. In 
general, however, it has not exceeded . three thou- 
sand pounds per year. The inhabitants of Mans- 
field have been wholly dependent upon the white 
mulberry for feed for their worms ; and a large 
proportion of these were destroyed in the severe 
winter of 1834-5. 

In all these experiments, made in the Northern, 
Southern and Middle States, it was found, that 
our climate and soils every where produced silk 
of a superior quality, and that commanded a high 
price. The same is true at the present day, for 
the same sun shines, and the same winds blow. 

But in those early times, there were causes that 
forbid a wide extension, or the permanent estab- 
lishment of the business. The population of the 
country was sparce. In some parts indigo, rice 
and tobacco were supposed to be more profitable. 
The revolutionary war broke up the filatures 
North and South, and then came on the cotton 
culture, which, at the South, has swallowed up 
every thing else to the present day. 

All this while, be it remembered, it was the 
white mulberry on which they fed, which involv- 
ed expenditures in labor at least two or three times 
as large as feeding from the best foreign varieties 
of the mulberry lately introduced. 

But the main difficulty was the want of a re- 
gular home market for cocoons and raw silk. 
Cocoons will not bear shipment, nor will they 
bear distant land transportation. They require 
a home market. We had no silk manufacturing 
establishment^ to present such markets. Up to 
1816, the entire feeling of the country, a feeling 
industriously instilled from the very infancy of 
our settlements, by the mother kingdom, was in 
opposition to domestic manufactures of every 
description. The clock reel, the spinning wheel, 
and hand loom, constituted all the machinery that 
was thought befitting our circumstances, as an 
agricultural and a commercial people. 

In this state of things, silk factories of course 

* I. R. Barbour of Oxford, Mass. 
t^Hazard's Register of Pennsylvania, p. 64. 



would not start up. Hence the «ilk grown, was 
generally worked up in families into sewings and 
hosier}', and bartered at the village stores for 
goods. Nobody thought of getting cash for it. 

The silk culture became strongly the subject of 
public attention in 1826.* Congress encouraged 
it, by the publication and distribution of large 
editions of :nanuals and treatises, prepared with 
great care and fullness, and giving all the direc- 
tions and details necessary to the prosecution of 
the business, from the raising of the trees, to the 
preparation of the article for use. The vast 
amounts of money annually sent abroad for the 
purchase ef this article of universal use and al- 
most of necessity, the increasing use of the article 
among all classes of people, and to an extent pro- 
bably not known in any other country ; and, at 
the same time, the acknowledged capacity of the 
country to produce silk, and of the best quality, 
gave new prommence to the subject in the com- 
munity, and drew the public attention to it with 
an intense interest ; but with no greater interest 
than in an economical view, in the opinion of 
many intelligent men, its national importance 
may justly claim. 

The first attempt to manufacture sewing silk 
by machinery, was made in Mansfield, Conn., in. 
1829, by Capt. Joseph Conant, and Mr. Atwood. 
They succeeded in making a good article, though 
for a time, amidst many losses and discourage- 
ments. But Yankee skill and pereverance tri- 
umphed. They pushed the business through, 
and are still engaged in it vigorously and success- 
fully — the former in the firm of Conant & Swift, 
Northampton, Mass., and the latter in the firm of 
Atwood & Crane, Mansfield, Conn. 

Since 1829, a few other factories have been 
established for the manufacture of sewings, twist, 
galoons, fringes, coach lace, handkerchiefs, vel- 
vets and piece goods, and are now in successful 
operation. They are found in Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, New-Hampshire, New- York, New- / 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, and else- / 
where. Others arc in contemplation, and will 
spring up in different localities as fast as circum- 
stances will permit. In this way local cash mar- 
kets are created for cocoons and raw silk, to any 
extent that may be desired, thus alleviating the 
great difiieulty formerly experienced ; and secu- 
ring, it is fully hoped, the regular extension of the 
silk culture throughout all the States, and the 
complete establishment of the silk business, 
growing and manufacturing, as a part of the per- 
manent industry of the country. 

In 1831, the introduction of a new plant into 
the country, (the Perottet Mulberry, or Morus 
Multicaulis,) which promised from its extraordi- 
nary capacity of rapid multiplication, and its pro- 
ductiveness of foliage, to furnish superior advan- 
tages for the prosecution of the silk culture, gave 
a new impulse to the cause, and roused public en- 
thusiasm to a high degree of fervor. 

In the year 1836, the subject of Silk Culture in 
the United States was brought before the public 
by a communication from General Tallmadge, 
then on a tour through Europe, which appeared 
in the Journal of the American Institute. We 
here insert such parts of the communication re- 
ferred to as relate to the Silk business, inasmuch 



■ Colman's Agriculwral Report. 



10 



History and Culture of Silk. 



as the publication at the time spoken of excited 
considerable interest in the subject, snd now forms 
an intercstincr portion of the history of Silk Cul- 
ture in the United States : — 

" Since I arrived in this land of fame and fable, 
I have not been unmindful of the culture of silk, 
so justly a subject of great and growing interest 
to our country. I have visited several manufac- 
tories of silk. It is not the season for seeing the 
silk worm, but most of its progress in other res- 
pects I have been able to see. I have made ma- 
ny inquiries in hopes of obtaining useful informa- 
tion. Finizio is an extensive manufacturer of 
sewing silk ; he makes about three thousand 
pounds a week, which is mostly sent to the New 
York market. He is an intelligent man, and I 
found him willing to answer my inquiries ; as 
also were several other establishments, and which 
mostly confirmed his statement. The sewing 
silks of Naples are mostly made from the silk 
grown in Calabria, where the worm is fed prin- 
cipally upon the hlack mulberry, and which 
makes the strongest and best for sewing silk. — 
Finizio stated that the worm fed on the black 
mulberry made the strongest thread ; that on the 
ichite mulberry, finer and better for fabrics; thai 
on the Chinese mulberry still finer and more del- 
icate. When asked if the cocoon from the Chi- 
nese mulberry required more skilful and delicate 
work to wind and work it, he said it did, and 
immediately produced two skeins, one of which 
he said was from the black mulberry, (from a 
bush, perhaps, eight or ten feet in circumference,) 
the other from a bush about four feet. The les- 
ser bush, he said, was less liable to break the 
thread in winding from the cocoon, and was used 
in finer silks for fabrics. The black mulberry 
produced a stronger thread, and would bear the 
larger reel, and was principally used in that busi- 
ness. The silk here is mostly made in the coun- 
try by families in detail, and much of it reeled 
there, and in this condition it is brought to mar- 
ket- For sewing silk it is doubled as often as re- 
quired, and twisted as much. This process is 
wholly in a dark room. The silk is worked wet, 
and for this purpose, to preserve a uniformity, the 
atmosphere is kept damp, the daylight excluded, 
and the work carried on with small hand lamps. 
The machine was turned by men harnessed like 
mules. I have since been out about twenty 
miles to the silk factory of the king, wliieh is 
■worked by water power, and by which the co- 
coons are also reeled. I stated to Finizio, as 
weU as at the king's factory, that the Italian 
sewing silk was sold in the American markets by 
its weight, while the American sewing silk was 
sold by the skein ; and that one pound of the 
Italian would have perhaps two hundred and fif- 
ty skeins, while one of the American silk would 
have about three hundred and fifty skeins. The 
cause of this difference of weight, or why the 
American sewing silk has a tendency to curl or 
knot, they could not explain without a sample, 
but said the weigJit of sewing silk could be dimi- 
nishcd or very considerably augmented in the 
dyeing, and that good dyeing required the silk to 
be well boiled in soap, after which it was put into 
an acid, and was there prepared for the process of 
the dye, according to the color, as desired. The 
gloss, or dressing, seems to be produced by beat- 



ing and twisting on a post, which, with the man- 
ual labor put upon its finish, it is supposed, pre. 
vents its tendency to knot. 

" I asked if the color of the cocoon, yellow or 
white, gave any difference of value, or indicated 
a sickly worm, and the answer was that the color 
was casual, and the value the same ; that a se- 
lection of white or yellow cocoons from which to 
get esrgs would probably produce a like color ; 
and Mr. Finizio said he had some customers who 
had so selected and brought him cocoonn entirely 
white ; and that for white ribbons or fabrics, they 
commanded a greater price of from three to five 
per cent., though otherwise of equal value. 

" I have made many other inquiries and obser- 
vations on this subject, but which in the limits of 
a letter cannot be detailed. The eggs are here in 
market during most of the year, and by being 
kept in a grotto, or cold damp place, the worm 
can be produced as required. The sirocco, or hot 
south wind, is here the greatest enemy of the silk 
worm, and sometimes suddenly destroys so many 
of the worms as to require the reproduction of an- 
other class, from eggs in reserve. They should 
be sheltered from tliis wind, and ventilation 
shoiUd be given them from above or by back win- 
dows. I think we have sometimes a like south, 
or south-west, wind, which should be guarded 
against, and which our gardeners call a red wind, 
from a rust produced by it on peach and apricot 
trees, which curls iip and burns the young leaves, 
and often kills the trees, and is said to affect the 
mulberry trees in like manner. 

" The black mulberry tree is a native of our coun- 
try, and is common in Dutchess count}', especizd- 
ly in Fishkill. It is, on my farm, a common tree. 
It is as valuable for posts and timber as red cedar. 
If the suggestions of Mr. Finizio, and others, as 
to the black mulberry, are correct, as being better 
for sewing silk, and more easily reeled, is not the 
matter worthy of attention ? and especially in the 
first effort, and until skill and experience is ob- 
tained ? The black mulberry can be immediate- 
ly used, while a few years will be required to rear 
the Chinese, and obtam the silk for its more deli- 
cate work. My most excellent and lamented 
wife, in the few last years of her declining health, 
occupied her active mind in some experiments 
with the silk worm. She placed some of the eggs 
in the fall of the year, and left them, during the 
severe cold of the winter, in an upper chamber ; 
and others she placed in a family room not affect- 
ed by the frosts ; in the spring season tliey produ- 
ced the silk worm equally well ; she put some 
eggs in the ice house, not on the ice, but on the 
straxc, and in its atmosphere ; and some time, I 
think, in July, they were brought out, and produ. 
ced their worms in good condition. She fed one 
hundred worms on the black mulberry, one hun- 
dred on the white, one hundred on the Chinese, 
and one hundred on the black in their early sta- 
ges, and, in the last stage, before making their 
cocoons, upon the Chinese ; — all succeeded well. 
Those fed on the black, seemed to produce the 
strongest thread and most easily wound ; the 
white the next, but with little difference ; those 
fed wholly on the Chinese no ways different from 
those fed in the last stage, but greater difficulty 
to wind the Chinese than either those of the blacit 
or white. She had the publications made in our 



History and Cultitre of SVk. 



11 



State, as well as those by order of Congress on 
the culture of silk, as her instructions. The im- 
pulse of her mind was to assist in procuring a 
profitable family employment for children, for fe- 
males and infirm persons ; without which she 
considered thut the noble system of our Sunday 
free schools and charitable institutions, was not 
carried to the full extent of their benevolence. — 
The hope of this consummation affords a cheer- 
ing prospect. A wide field ispresented, in which 
the philanthropist, the moralist, and the political 
economist may jointly labor, and, in their efforts, 
greatly promote the public good. Whoever has 
seen the condition of the common people of Eu- 
rope, and especially the idle beggars of Ireland 
and of Italy, will appreciate the indispensable ne- 
cessity of attention to this growing evil with us. 
It is a maxim of political economy that ' demand 
begets supply,' and experience has shown that 
every charity is over-crowded. The towns of 
England are holding meetings, and resolving not 
to contribute to street beggary, but to give tickets 
on certain officers, who am to examine and afford 
ample relief to the afflicted, and send them to the 
houses of correction and confinement. The cul- 
ture of silk will afford an additional and valuable 
employment, and should be connected with our 
charities ; and employment of some kind should 
be provided in the houses of correction, which 
will be the most eflectual charity. 

" But even as a new staple for the country, and 
a new article of production in common families, 
the culture of silk will be an invaluable acquisi- 
tion. I have made every observation in my 
power, and I am fully convinced that the culture 
of silk will be found suitable to our climate, and 
well adapted to our country and people. Calabria, 
ihougli south of Naples, is mountainous, and 
a much colder cUmate than ours. The M'lan 
and Piedmontesc silk is the best, and is much 
sought after in the London market. Those dis. 
tricts are in the North of Italy, and near the 
Alps. I think the production of the worm should 
be delayed until after the usual cold storm to be 
expected from the loth to the 25th May. Our 
month of June would be the most desirable as a 
iirst establishment for them. If families can be 
induced to the growing of the cocoon, the women 
and children will soon produce as much from the 
mulberry trees about the house and along the 
fences, as the father can make on the clear profit 
of his farm. Thermometers or fires are not much 
used in Italy, the season giving the temperature 
required. The business must be simplified, and 
freed from too much instruction, to secure its suc- 
cess with us. The difficulty to extract reasons 
or information from the common people of the 
continent is so evident, and they so essentially 
differ from our American people in their aptitude 
to give reasons and explanations, that I say — do 
not seek to receive too much European instruc- 
tion, but rely on the producible common sense of 
our people ; this fund will not fail or be insuffi- 
cient, and, with a little experience, I am sure of 
success in the culture of sUk in our country. In- 
duce the growing of the cocoons, and the object 
will be accomplished. It is a very simple busi. 
ness. I shall continue my observations on this 
important and interesting subject, in my tour 
through France ; but if our American merchants ; 



and dealers in silks from Italy and France, could 
be induced to introduce the culture of silk, and 
obtain from time to time information from their 
correspondents, they would be a host of strength 
in the business. I have found the operatives 
here rather a prejudiced and uncertain source for 
information. They work, but cannot tell the 
why or wherefore." 

" Since my last, I have travelled through Italy, 
and especially in the silk districts, and also 
through France, and have visited many of the 
manufactories in both countries, endeavoring to 
learn the details of this subject, now so interest- 
ing, and, I think, so essential to our country. — 
The limits of a letter will, however, confine me 
to a few isolated remarks. 

" The weaving of silk, after it gets into skeins, 
is like any other weaving of like character ; it is 
the production of silk, and the habit of growing 
it, that must be acquired by our country ; and it 
is, in this view, a mine of boundless wealth, not 
second even to the production of cotton. The 
country which so lately surprized Europe by 
sending eight bales of cotton to its market, and 
now astonishes the world with its countlesss 
thousands, may soon exhibit a like wonder in the 
production of its silk. 

" In Calabria, which is in the south of Italy, the 
black mulberry is principally used. In the rest 
of Italy the white mulberry, common to them and 
to France, is principally used. The north of Ita- 
ly — that is, between the Alps emd the Appenines 
— produces the most and the best silk. In this 
region, and especially in Sardinia, near Turin, 
and at Novi, the English and French are compe- 
titors in market, to purchase their silk as the best 
in the world ; and yet on the 9th of March, the 
snow was one foot and a half deep, and the streets 
of Novi blocked up like our Cedar street ! In 
Calabria the silk is produced by the country peo- 
ple, in their families, and mostly reeled by them. 
There are very few factories for reeling in the 
NeapoHtan kingdom. In Lombardy, and to. 
wards Venice, there arc also establishments for 
reeling, yet the greater part is reeled by the fami. 
lies, in detail, and brought to the market in the 
skein. In Sardinia the cocoons are mostly reel- 
ed in establishments. At Novi their reeling es- 
tablishments arc numerous. I saw one, novf 
erecting, which is a quadrangle two hundred feet 
square, and appropriated solely to reeling cocoons. 
They are purchased up from near Milan, and ma- 
ny miles distant. This is admitted to be the bsst 
silk in the world. The red mulberry is here prin- 
cipally used, and is known as the Calabria mul- 
berry. It is described as having a dark fruit ; 
the tree is like our black; and when I called it 
black mulberry, I was corrected, and told the 
stain of the fruit was red, and not black, and 
which gave the character of the tree. The 
French, in addition to the tohite mulberry, have a 
dwarf wliite, much liked, and getting into use ; 
but, it must be remembered, there is not in 
France, and scarcely in Italy, a fence, and they 
do not graze their fields as we do. With our ha- 
bit of pasturage, the dwarf would be inadmissible. 
The Chinese mulberry is unknown in Italy. I 
found only a few young engrafted trees, but ns 
experiments there, to be relied upon, to establish 
its superior ulility. In Italy, and in France, the 



12 



History and Culture of Silk. 



mulberry is generally planted near the houses, 
along the road sides, by division fences, and often 
like an open orchard. The trees are formed like 
a middle-sized apple tree. Its shade does not in- 
jure the land. The tree in Italy is usually made 
to sustain a grape vine, and the field is cultivated 
for wheat and other crops. There is less discri- 
mination here than you would imagine in the 
kind of Mulberry. The French have made ex- 
periments, especially on the Chinese ; and the 
opinion seems to be, that the Chinese mulberry 
will bear to have its leaves twice picked off, and 
thus produce two crops of silk in one year. As 
yet, however, there is not much use made of the 
Chinese mulberry, even here, and the grower of 
silk cannot answer as to its virtues ; — but the an- 
swer is often given to me, that, as to the quality 
and the quantity of the silk, it is the sa7ne as any 
other mulberry ; and that the quahty of the silk 
depends on the treatment of the worm, and tlie 
care and skill in reeling. They pay less atten- 
tion to the kind of mulberry on which it is fed 
than we expect. They have also ivhite, and use 
it. Nahit directs more in Europe than with vz ; 
and therefore I urge that our people mak? experi- 
ments for themselves. They should neither take 
nor reject any thing too quickly upon European 
experience. Climate and circumstances may 
produce a different result, and the alleged experi- 
ments of Europe may have been incorrectly or 
inadequately tried. 

" It is a peculiar and important circumstance in 
favor of the adaptation and fitness of our climate 
to the culture of silk, that, with us, the silk worm 
is produced at the beginning of warm weather, in 
May and June, by the natural temperature of the 
season, wliile in Europe, and especially in Italy 
and France, it is produced only by artificial tem- 
perature and means. This fact is a volume in 
promise for our country. Fires and a thermome- 
ter are not used in the south of Italy to secure an 
equal temperature in the rooms of the worms, nor 
much used in the north of Italy, unless in the re- 
gion of some snow-capped mountain, or where 
other circumstances produce sudden inequalities 
of temperature. It is the same as to the south 
and north of France. 

" The books already published, by Congress and 
our State, give the best, and indeed all the mstruc- 
tions v/hich can be given on the subject ; and 
with these, as guides, let the safe and unerring 
common sense of our people make experiments 
for themselves; and, I venture to say, the time is 
not far distant when America will produce silk 
in abundance from practical information and sci- 
ence, wiiile other countries wUl continue to do it 
from habit." 



CHAPTER III. 

Silk Manufacture— Specific Gravity— Raw SUh—.ilssa- 
mese Cocoonery— Silk Filature— Reeling— Throiving 

mil,. =. » 

Before proceeding farther in the history of the 
Silk Manufacture in the United States, or enter- 
ing upon the practical details of the business, we 
will present such a sketch of the process of man- 
iifacturing, through all the various stages, as we 
trust will render the subject inteUigible and inter- 



esting to the general reader. We avail ourselves 
of the article in Ure's Dictionary of Arts and 
Manufactures as affording the fullest and most 
satisfactory descriptions of the material, process 
and machinery ; although in several particulars 
it will be found to differ somewhat from the mode 
adopted in this country. 

Silk Manufacture may be divided into two 
branches: 1. the production of raw silk ; 2. its 
filature and preparation in the mill, for the pur- 
poses of the weaver and other textile artisans. 
The threads, as spun by the silkworm, and wound 
up in its cocoon, are all twins, in consequence of 
the twin orifice in the nose of the insect through 
which they are projected. These two threads 
are laid parallel to each other, and are glued more 
or less evenly together by a kind of glossy var- 
nish, which also envelopes them, constituting 
nearly twenty-five per cent, of their weight. Each 
ultimate filament measures about l-20()0th of au 
inch in average fine silk, and the nSW hieasures 
of com-se fully LlOOOth of an inch* In the raw 
silk, as imported from Italy, France, China, &c., 
several of these twin filaments are slightly twist- 
ed and agglutinated to form one thread, called a 
single. 

The specific gravity of silk is 1.300, water 
being 1.000. It is by far the most tenacious or 
the strongest of all textile fibres, a thread of it of 
a certain diameter being nearly three times 
stronger than a thread of flax, and twice stronger 
than hemp. Some varieties of silk are perfectly 
white, but a general color in the native state is a 
golden yellow. 

There are three denominations of raw silk ; 
viz., organzine, irayne (BJiute or tram), and floss. 
Organzine serves for the warp of the best silk 
stuffs, and is considerably twisted ; tram is made 
usually from inferior silk, and is very slightly 
twisted, in order that it may spread more, and 
cover better in the weft ; floss, or bourre, consists 
of the shorter broken silk, which is carded and 
spun like cotton. Organzine and frame may con- 
tain from three to thirty twin filaments of the 
worm : the former possesses a double twist, the 
component filaments being first twisted in one 
direction, and the compound thread in the oppo- 
site ; the latter receives merely a slender single 
twist. Each twin filament gradually diminishes 
in thickness and strength, from the surface of the 
cocoon, where the animal begins its work in a 
state of vigor, to the centre, where it finishes it, 
in a state of debility and exhaustion ; because it 
can receive no food from the moment of its be- 
ginning to spin by spouting forth its silky sub- 
stance. The winder is attentive to this progres- 
sive attenuation, and introduces tlie commence- 
ment of some cocoons to compensate for the ter- 
mination of otliers. The quality of raw silk de. 
pends, therefore, very much upon the skill and 
care bestowed upon its filature. The softest and 
purest water sliould be used in the cocoon kettle. 

The quality of the raw silk is determined by 
first winding off four hundred ells of it, equal to 
four hundred seventy-five metres, round a drum 
one cU in circumference, and then weighing that 
length. The weight is expressed in grains, 
twenty-four of which constitute one denier ; 
twenty-four deniers constitute one ounce ; and 
sixteen ounces make one pound, poids de marc. 



History and Culture of Silk. 



13 



This is the Lyons rule for valuing silk. The 
weight of a thread of raw silk four hundred ells 
long, is two grains and a half, when five twin 
filaments have been reeled and associated to- 
gether. 

Raw silk is so absorbent of moisture, that it 
may be increased ten per cent, in weight by this 
means. This property has led to falsifications ; 
which are detected by enclosing weighed portions 
of the suspected silk in a wire-cloth cage, ar;', ex- 
posing it to a stove heat of about 78° F. for 
twenty. four hours, with a current of air. The 
loss of weight which it thereby undergoes, de- 
monstrates the amount of the fraud. There is an 
office in Lyons called the Condition, where this 
assay is made, ^hd by the report of which the 
silJi is jought and sold. The law in France re- 
quires, that all the silk tried by the Cotidition 
must be worked up into fabrics in that country. 

The Assamese select for breeding, such cocoons 
only as have been begun to be formed in the lar- 
gest number on the same day, usually the second 
or third after the commencement ; those which 
contain males being distinguishable by a more 
pointed end. They are put in a closed basket 
suspended from the roof; the moths, as they come 
forth, having room to move about, after a day, the 
females (known only by their large body) are 
taken out, and tied to small wisps of thatching- 
straw, selected always from over the hearth, its 
darkened color being thought more acceptable to 
the insect. If out of a batch, there should be 
but few males, the wisps with the females tied to 
them are exposed outside at night ; and the males 
thrown away in the neighborhood find their way 
to them. These wisps are hung upon a string 
tied across the roof, to keep them from vermin. 
The eggs laid after the first three days are said to 
produce weak worms. The wisps are taken out 
morning and evening, and exposed to the sun- 
shine, and in ten days after being laid, a few of 
them are hatched. The wisps being then liung 
up to the tree, the young worms find their way to 
the leaves. The ants, whose bite is fatal to the 
worm in its early stages, are destroyed by rubbing 
tlie trunk of the tree with molasses, and tying 
dead fish and toads to it, to attract these rapacious 
insects in large numbers, when they are destroy- 
ed with fire ; a process which needs to be repeated 
several times. The ground under the trees is also 
weU cleared, to render it easy to pick up and re- 
place the worms which fall down. They are 
prevented from coming to the ground by tying 
fresh plantain leaves round the trunk, over whose 
slippery surface they cannot crawl ; and they are 
transferred from exhausted trees to fresh ones, on 
bambo® platters tied to long poles. The worms 
require to be constantly watched and protected 
from the depredations of both day and night 
birds, as well as rats and other vermin. During 
their moultings, they remain on the branches ; but 
when about beginning to spin, they come down 
the trunk, and being stopped by the plantain 
leaves, are there collected in baskets, which are 
afterwards put under bunches of dry leaves, sus- 
pended from the roof, into which the worms 
crawl, and form their cocoons — several being 
clustered together : this accident, due to the prac- 
tice of crowding the worms together, which is 
most injudicious, rendering it imposisible to wind 



off their silk in continuous threads, as in the fila- 
tures of Italy, France, and even Bengal. The silk 
is, therefore, spun like flax, instead of being un- 
wound in single filaments. After four days the 
proper cocoons are selected for the next breed, 
and the rest are uncoiled. The total duration of 
a breed varieg 'rom sixty to seventy days ; divided 
into t}i3 following periods : 

Foui- moultings, with one day's illness attending eacU 3Q 
From fourth moulting to beginning of cocoon - • 10 
In the cocoon 20, as a moth 6, hatching of eggs 10 36 

66 
On being tapped with the finger, the body ren- 
ders a hollow sound ; the quality of which sliows 
whether they have come down for want of leaves 
on the tree, or from their having ceased feeding. 

As the chrysalis is not soon killed by exposure 
to the sun, the cocoons are put on stages, covered 
up with leaves, and exposed to the hot air from 
grass burned under them ; they are next boiled 
for about an hour in a solution of the potash, 
made from the incinerated rice stalks ; then taken 
out, and laid on cloth folded over them to 
keep them warm. The floss being removed by 
hand, they are then thrown into a basin of hot 
water to be unwound ; which is done in a very 
rude and wasteful way. 

The plantations for the mooga silkworm in 
Lower Assam, amount to 5,000 acres, besides what 
the forests contain ; and yield one thousand five 
hundred maunds of eighty-four pounds each per 
annum. Upper Assam is more productive. 

The cocoon of the Koiithuri mooga is of a size 
of a fowl's egg. It is a wild species, and affords 
filaments much valued for fishing lines. 

8. The Arrindy or Eria worm, and moth, is 
reared over a great part of Hindostan, but en- 
tirely within doors. It is fed principally on the 
Hera or Palma christi leaves, and gives some- 
times twelve broods of spun silk in the course of 
a year. It affords a fibre which looks rough at 
first ; but when woven, becomes soft and silky, 
after repeated washings. The poorest people are 
clothed with stuff made of it, which is so durable 
as to descend from mother to daughter. The co- 
coons are put in a closed basket, and hung up in 
tlie house, out of reach of rats and insects. 
When the moths come forth, they are allowed to 
move about in the basket for twenty-four hours ; 
after which the females are tied to long reeds or 
canes, twenty or twenty-five to each, and these are 
hung up in the house. The eggs that are laid the 
first three days, amounting to about two hundred, 
alone are kept ; they are tied up in a cloth, and 
suspended to the roof till a few begin to hatch. 
These eggs are white, and of the size of turnip 
seed. When a few of the worms are hatched, 
the cloths are put on small bamboo platters himg 
up in the house, in which they are fed with ten- 
der leaves. After the second moulting, they are 
removed to bunches of leaves suspended above 
the ground, beneath which a mat is laid to re- 
ceive them when they fall. When they cease to 
feed, they are thrown into baskets full of dry 
leaves, among which they form their cocoons, 
two or three being often "found joined together. 
Upon this injudicious practice I have aheady 
animadverted. 

9. The Saturrria trifenestrata has a yellow 
cocoon of a remarkably silky lustre. It lives on 



14 



History and Culture of Silk. 



the soom tree in Assam, but seems not to be 
much used. 

SILK FILATURE. 

The mechanism of the silk filature, as lately 
improved in France, is very ingenious. Figs. 1 
and 2 exhibit it in plan and longitudinal view. 




a is ail oblong copper basin containing water 
heated by a stove or by steam. It is usually di- 



vided by transverse partitions into several com- 
partments, containing twenty cocoons, of which 
there are five in one group, as shown in the figure. 
b, h, are wires with hooks or eyelets at their ends, 
through which the filaments run, apart, and are 
kept from ravelling, c, c, the points where the 
filaments cross and rub each other, on purpose to 
clean their surfaces, d, is a spiral groove, work- 
ing upon a pin point, to give the traverse motion 
alternately to right and left, whereby the thread 
is spread evenly over the surface of the reel e. 
f, f, are the pulleys, which by means of cords 
transmit the rotary movement of the cylinder d, 
to the reel e. g, is a friction lever or tumbler, for 
lightening or slackening the endless cord, in the 
act of starting or stopping the winding operation. 
Every apartment of a large filature contains usu- 
ally a series of such reels as the above, all driven 
by one prime mover ; each of which, however, 
may by means of the tumbling lever be stopped 
at pleasure. The reeler is careful to remove any 
slight adhesions, by the application of a brush in 
the progress of her work. 

The raw silk, as imported into England in 
hanks from the filatures, requires to be regularly 
wound upon bobbins, doubled, twisted, and reeled 
in silk mills. These processes are called throw- 
ing silk, and their proprietors are called silk 
throiDsters ; terms probably derived from the ap- 
pearance of swinging or tossing which the silk 
threads exhibit during their rapid movements 
among the machinery of the mills. 

SILK-TIIR0WI\G MILL. 

The first process to which the silk is subjected, 
is winding the skeins, as imported, off upon bob- 
bins. The mechanism which effects this wind- 
ing ofF and on, is technically called the engine, 




or swift. The bobbins to which the silk is <r ins- 
ferred, are wooden cylinders, of such thicliness 
aB may not injure the silk by sudden flexure, and 



which may also receive a great length of thread 
without having their diameter materially in- 
creased, or their surface velocity changed. Fig. 3 



History and Culture of Silk. 



]5 



is an end view of the silk throwing machine, or 
engine, in which the two hexagonal reels, called 
swifts, arc seen in section, as well as the table be- 
tween them, to which the bobbins and impelling 
mechanism arc attached. The skeins are put 
upon these reels, from which the silk is gradually 
unwound by the traction of the revolving bobbins. 
One principal object of attention, is to distribute 
the thread over the length of the bobbin-cylinder 
in a spiral or oblique direction, so that the end of 
the slender semi-transparent thread may be readily 
found when it breaks. As the bobbins revolve 
with uniform velocitj', they would soon wind on 
too fast, were their diameters so small at first as 
to become greatly thicker when they are filled. 
They are therefore made large, are not covered 
thick, but are frequently changed. The motion 
is communicated to that end of the engine shown 
in tlie figure. 

The wooden table A, shown here in cross sec- 
tion, is sometimes of great length, extending 
twenty feet, or more, according to the size of the 
apartment. Upon this the skeins are laid out. It is 
supported by the two strong slanting legs b, e, to 
which the bearings of the light reel c are made 
fast. These reels are called swifts, apparently 
by the same et3'mologicaI casuistry as Iticus « 
non lucendo; for they turn with reluctant and 
irregular slowness ; yet they do their work much 
qmcker than any of the old apparatus, and in 
tliis respect may deserve their name. At every 
eighth or tenth leg there is a projecting horizontal 
piece D, which carries at its end another horizon, 
tal bar a, called the knee rail, at right angles to 
the former. This protects the slender reels or 
swifts from the knees of the operatives. 

The expense of reeling the excellent Cevcnnes 



silk is only three francs and fifty centimes per 
Alais pound ; from four to five cocoons going to 
one thread. That pound is ninety-two hundreths 
of our avoirdupois pound. In Italy, the cost of 
reeling silk is much higher, being seven Italian 
livres per pound, when three to four cocoons go 
to the formation of one thread ; and six livres 
when there are from four to five cocoons. The 
first of these raw .<;ilks will have a iitre of twenty 
to twenty.four deniers ; the last, of twenty-four 
to twenty-eight. If five to six cocoons go to one 
thread, the titre will be from twenty-six to thirty- 
two deniers, according to the quality of the co- 
coons. The Italian livre is worth T^d. English. 
The woman employed at the kettle receives one 
livre and five sous per day ; and the girl who 
turns the reel, gets thirteen sous a day ; both re- 
ceiving board and lodging in addition. In June, 
July and August, they work sixteen hours a day, 
and then they wind a ruho or ten pounds weight 
of cocoons, which yield from one-fifth to one-sixth 
of silk, when the quality is good. The whole 
expenses amount to from six to seven livres upon 
every ten pounds of cocoons ; which is about 2s. 
8d. per English pound of raw silk. 

These swifts have a strong wooden shaft h, 
with an iron axis passing longitudmally through 
it, round which they revolve, in brass bearings 
fixed near to the middle of the legs b. Upon the 
middle of the shaft h, a loose ring is hung, shown 
under c, in fig. 4, to which a light weight d, is 
suspended, for imparting friction to the reel, and 
thus preventing it from turning round, unless it 
be drawn with a gentle force, such as the traction 
of the thread in the act of winding upon the 
bobbin. 

Fig. 4 is a front view of the engine, b, b, are 




the legs, placed at their appropriate distances 
(scale one and a half inch to the foot) ; c, c, are 
the swifts. By comparing fi,gs. 3 and 4, the 
structure of the swifts will be fully understood. 



From the wooden shaft h, six slender wooden (or 
iron) spokes c, e, proceed, at equal angles to each 
other ; which are bound together by a cord/, near 
their free ends, upon the transverse line /, of 



16 



History and Culture of Silk. 



which cord, the silk thread is wound, in a hexa- 
gonal form ; due tension being given to the cir- 
cumferential cords, by sliding them out from the 
centre. Slender wooden rods are set betweeft 
each pair of spokes, to stay i^'kia, an^ to keep 
the cord tight. ^ Is one of the two horizontal 
^"iiafts, placed upon each side of the engine to 
which are affixed a number of light iron pulleys 
g, g, (shown on a double scale infig. 5). These 
serve, by friction, to drive the bobbins which rest 
upon their peripheries. 

To the table a, fig. 3, arc screwed the light 
cast-iron slot-bearings i, i, wherein the horizontal 
spindles or skewers rest, upon which the bobbins 
revolve. The spindles 
(see F,fig.9) carry upon 
one end a little wooden 
pulley h, whereby they 
press and revolve upon 
the larger driving pulleys 
g, of tlie shaft e. These 
^-j pulleys are called stais 
^fq \ by our workmen. The 
otherends of the spindles, 
or skewers, are cut into 
screws, for attaching the 
swivel nuts i (fig. 9), by 
which the bolibins k, k, 
are made fast to their re- 
spective spindles. Be- 
sides the f-lots above de- 
scribed, in which the 
spindles rest when their 
friction pulleys fi, are in 
contact with the moving 
stars g, there is another 
set of slots in the bear- 
ings, into which the ends 
of the spindles may be 
occasionally laid, so as to be above the line of 
contact of the rubbing peripliery of the star g, in 
case the thread 
of any bobbin 
breaks. When- 
ever the girl has 
mended the 
thread, she re- 
places the bob- 
bin - spindle in 
its deeper slot- 
bearings, thereby 
bringing its pul- 
ley once more in- 
to contact with 
the star, and 
causing it to re- 
volve. G is a 
long ruler or bar 
of wood, which 
is supported upon 
, every eighth or 
' twelfth leg B, B. 
(The figure being 
for the conveni- 
encc of the page 
-contracted in 
length, shows it 
at cverv sixth 
leg.) To the 
edge of that bar the smooth glass rods k, are made 





fast, over which the threads glide from the swifts, 
in their way to the bobbins, n is the guide bar, 
which h.ag a gjow traverse or seesaw motion, sli- 
ding in slots at the top of the legs c, where they 
support the bars g. tlpon the guide bar h, the 
guide pieces Z, I, arc made fast. These consist 
of two narrow, thin, upright plates of iron, placed 
endwise together, their contiguous edges being 
smooth, parallel, and capable of approximation to 
any degree by a screw, so as to increase or dimi- 
nish at pleasure the ordinary width of the vertical 
slit that separates them. Through this slit the 
silk thread must pass, and, if rough or knotty, 
will be either cleaned or broken ; in the latter case, 
it is neatly mended by the attendant girl. 

The motions of the various parts of the engine 
are given as follows : Upon the end of the ma- 
chine, represented in fig. 3, there are attached to 
the shafts e, (fig. 4,) the bevel wheels 1 and 2, 
which are set in motion by the bevel wheels 3 
and 4, respectively. These latter wheels are fixed 
upon the shaft ?/i, fig. 3. m, is moved by the 
main stem shaft which runs parallel to it, and at 
the same height, through the length of the engine 
apartment, so as to drive the whole range of the 
machines. 5, is a loose wheel or pulley upon the 
shaft 7n, working in gear with a wheel upon the 
steam shaft, and which may be connected by the 
clutch n, through the hand lever or gearing rod 
0, (figs. 3 and 4,) when the engine is to be set at 
work. 6, is a spur wheel upon the shaft m, by 
which the stud wheel 7 is driven, in order to give 
the traverse motion to the guide bar h. This wheel 
is represented, with its appendages, in double size 
figs. 7 and 8, with its boss upon a stud p, secur- 
ed to the bracket q. In an eccentric hole of the 
same boss, another stud r, revolves, upon which 




the little wheel s is fixed. This wheel s, is in 
gear with a pinion cut upon the end of the fixed 
stud p; and upon it is screwed the little crank t, 
whose collar is connected by two rods u, (figs. 3 
and 4,( to a cross-piece v, which unites the two 
arms to, that are fixed upon the guide bar h, on 
both sides of the machine. By the revolution of 
the wheel 7, tlie wheel s will cause the pinion of 
the fixed stud p to turn round. If that wheel 
bear to the pinion the proportion of 4 to 1, then 
the wheel s will make, at each revolution of the 
wheel 7, one-fourth of a revolution ; whereby the 
crank t will also rotate through one-fourth of a 
turn, so as to be brought nearer to the centre of 
the stud, and to draw the guide bar so much less 
to one side of its mean position. At the next re- 
volution of tlie wheel 7, the crank t will move 
through another quadrant, and come still nearer 
to the central position, drawing the guide bars 
still less aside, and therefore causing the bobbins 
to wind on more thread in their middle than to- 



History and Culture of Silk. 



17 



wards their ends- Tlie contrary effect would en- 
sue, were the guide bars moved by a single or 
simple crank. After four revolutions of the wheel 
7, the crank t will stand once more as shown in 
fig. 8, having moved the bar ii through the whole 
extent of its traverse. The bobbins, when filled, 
have the appearance represented in fig. 10 ; the 
thread having been laid on them all the time in 
diagonal lines, so as never to coincide with each 
other. 

Douhling is the next operation of the silk 
tlirowster. In this process, the threads of two or 
three of the bobbins, filled as above, are wound 



together in contact upon a single bobbin. An in- 
genious device is here employed to stop the 
winding-on the moment one of these parallel 
threads happens to break. Instead of the swifts 
or reels, a creel is here mounted for receiving the 
bobbins from the former machine, two or three be- 
ing placed in one line over each other, according 
as the threads are to be doubled or trebled. — 
Though this machine is in many respects like the 
engine, it has some additional parts, whereby the 
bobbins are set at rest, as above mentioned, when 
one of the doubling threads gets broken. 

Fig. 11, is an end view, from which it will be 




perceived that the machine is, like the preceding, 
a double one, with two working sides. 

Fig. 12, is a front view of a considerable per- 
tion of the machine. 

Fig. 13, shows part of a cross section, to ex- 



plain minutely the mode of winding upon a single 
bobbin. 

Fig. 14, is the plan of the parts shown in fig. 
13 ; these two figures being drawn to double the 
scale of figs. 11 and 12. 




IffTPTn jfill 



A> A,^». 11 and 12, are the end frames, con- 
ftected at their tops by a wooden stretcher, or bar- 
beam, a, which extends through the whole length 
of the machine ; this bar is shown also in figs. 13 
and 14. 



D, B, arc the creels upon each side of the ma- 
chine, or bobbin bearers, resting upon wooden 
beams or boards, made fast to the arms or brack- 
ets c, about the middle of the frames a. 

D, p, are two horizontal iron shafts, which per- 



18 



History and Culture of Silk. 



vade the whole machine, and carry a series of 
light moveable pulleys, called stars, c, c, (figs. 
13, 14,) which serve to drive the bobbins e, e, 
whose fixed pulleys rest upon their peripheries, 
and are therefore turned simply by friction. These 
bobbins are screwed by swivel nuts e, e, upon 
spindles, as in the silk engine. Besides the small 
friction pulley or boss, d, seen best in fig. 14, by 
which they rest upon the star pulleys c, c, a little 
ratchet wheel /, is attached to the other end of 
each bobbin. This is also shown by itself at /, in 
fig. 15. 

The spindles with their bobbms revolve m two 
slot-bearings f, f, fig. 14, screwed to the bar-beam 
a, which is supported by two or three intermediate 
upright frames, such as a'. The slot-bearings f, 
have also a second slot, in which the spindle with 
the bobbin is laid at rest, out of contact of the 
star wheel, while its broken thread is being 
mended, g, is the guide bar, fto wlilch the clean- 
er slit piece g, g, are attached,) for n^aking the 
thread traverse to the right and the left, for its 
proper distribution over the surface of the bobbin. 
The guide bar of the doubling machine is moved 
with a slower traverse than in the engine . other- 
wise, in consequence of the difTerent obliquities 
of the paths, the single threads would be readily 
broken, h, h, is a pair of smooth rods of iron or 
brass, placed parallel to each of the two sides of 
the machine, and made fast to the standards h, ir, 
which are screwed to brackets projecting from 
the frames a, a'. Over these rods the silk threads 
gUde, in their passage to the guide wires g, g, 
and the bobbins e, e- 

I, I, is the lever board upon each side of the 
machine, upon which the slight brass bearings or 
fulcrums i, i, one for each bobbin in the creel, are 
made fast. This board bears the balance lever 



rally rests upon the ridge bar m, of the lever 
board i. n, n, n, are three wires, resting at one 
of their ends upon the axis of the fulcrum i, i, 
and having each of their other hooked ends sus- 
pended by one of the silk threads, as it passes 
over the front steel rod h, and under A'. These 
faller wires, or stop fingers, are guided truly in 
their up-and-down motions with the thread, by a 
cleaner-plate o, having a vertical slit in its middle. 
Hence, whenever any thread happens to break, 
in its way to a winding-on bobbin e, the wire v , 
which hung by its eyelet end to that thread, as it 
passed through between the steel rods in the line 
of k, h', falls upon the lighter arm of the balance 






k, I, with the /(iHeri «, ii, n, which act as dexter- 
ous fingers, and stop the bobbin from winding-on 
the instant a thread may chance to break. The 
levers k, I, swing upon a fine wire axis, which 
passes through their props t, t, their arms being 
Bhaped rectangularly, as shown at k, k'.fi^. 14. 
The arm I, being heavier than the arm k, natu- 



lever k, I, weighs down that arm k, consequently 
jerks up the arm I, which pitches its tip or end 
into one of the three notches of the ratchet or 
catch wheel /(_%s. 14 and 15) fixed to the end 
of the bobbin. Thus its motion is instantaneous- 
ly arrested, till the girl has had leisure to mend 
the thread, when she again hangs up the faller 
wire n, and restores the lever k, I, to its horizon- 
tal position. If, meanwhile, she took occasion to 
remove the winding bobbin out of the sunk slot- 
bearing, where the pulley d touches the star 
wheel c, into the right hand upper slot of repose, 
she must now shift it into its slot of rotation. 

The motions are given to the doubling machine 
in a very simple way. Upon the end of the 
framing, represented in fig. 11, the shafts d, d, 
bear two spur wheels 1 and 2, which work into 
each other. To the wheel 1, is attached the be- 
vel wheel 3, driven by another bevel wheel 
4, (fig. 12,) fixed to a shaft that extends 
the whole length of the apartment, and serves, 
therefore, to drive a whole range of ma- 
chines. The wheel 4 may be put in gear with 
the shaft, by clutch and gear-handle, as in the silk 
engine, and thereby it drives two shafts, by the 
one transmitting its movement to the other. 

The traverse motion of the guide bar g, is ef- 
fected as follows : — Upon one of the shafts d, 
there is a bevel wheel 5, driving the bevel wheel 
6, upon the top of the upright shaft p, (fig. 12, 
to the right of the middle ;) whence the motion is 
transmitted to tlie horizontal shaft q, below, by 
means of the bevel wheels 7 and 8. Upon this 
shaft q, there is a heart-wheel r, working against 
a roller whish is fixed to the end of the lever s, 
whose fulcrum is at t,fig. 12. The other end of 
the lever a, is connected by two rods (shown by 
dotted lines in fig. 12) to a brass piece which 
joins the arms u (fig. 12) of the guide bars c. To 
the same cross piece a cord is attached, which go«9 



History and CnlLure of Silk. 



91 



over a roller?', and suspends a weight w, by means 
of which the level s, is pressed into contact with 
the heart-wheel r. The fulcrum t,oi the lever s, 
is a shaft which is turned somewhat eccentric, 
and has a very slow rotatory motion. Thus the 
guide bar, after each traverse, necessarily winds 
the silk in variable lines, to tlic side of the prece- 
ding threads. 

The motion is given to this shaft in tlie follow- 
ing way : Upon the horizontal shaft q, there is 
a bevel wheel g, (fffs. 11 and 12,) which drives 
the wheel 10 upon the shaft x ; on whose upper 
end, the worm y works in the wheel 11, made fast 
to the said eccentric shaft t ; round which the 
lever s swings or oscillates, causing the guide 
bars to traverse. 

THE SPINNING SILK-MILL. 

The machine which twists the silk threads, 
either in their single or doubled state, is called 
the spinning mill. When the raw singles are first 
twisted in one direction, next doubled, and then 
twisted together in the opposite direction, an ex- 
ceedingly wiry, compact thread, is produced, 
called organsine. In the spinning mill, either 
the singles or the doubled silk, while being un- 
wound from one set of bobbins, and wound upon 
another set, is subjected to a regular twisting ope- 
ration ; in which process the thread is conducted 
as usual through guides, and coiled diagonally 
upon the bobbins by a proper mechanism. 

Fig. 16, exhibits an end view of the spinning 
mill, in which four working lines are shown ; two 
tiers upon each side.one upon the other. Some spin- 
ning mills have three working tiers upon each 
side ; but as the highest tier must be reached by 

h h 



a ladder or platform, this construction is consid- 
ed by many to be injudicious. 




*"Ti^i r — — : — ' kL "^ — '■ — ^ 



17 d 



Fig, 17 is a front view, where, as in the former 
figure, the two working lines are shown. 



;^cii 





ckixi' 



Pig. 18, JB a cross section of a part of the ma- j the working parts ; figs. 24, 25, 
iae, to illustrate the construction and play of I of %, 18. 



are other views 



20 



History aud CuUure of Silk. 



Fig. 19, shows a single part of the machine, by 
which the bobbins are made to revolve. 

Figs. 20, and 21, show a different mode of giv- 
ing the traverse to the guide bars, than that re- 
presented in fig. 18. 

Figs. 22, and 23, show the shape of the full 
bobbins, produced by the action of these two dif- 
ferent traverse motions. 

The upper part of the machine being exactly 
the same as the under part, it will be sufficient to 
explain the construction and operation of one of 
them. 

A, A, are the end upright frames or standards, 
between which are two or three intermediate 
standards, according to the length of the machine. 
They are all connected at their side by beams b 
and c, which extend the whole length of the ma- 
chines. D, D, are the spindles, whose top bear, 
ings, a, a, are made fast to the beams b, and their 
bottoms turn in hard brass steps, fixed to the bar 
c. These two bars together are called, by the 
workmen, the spindle box. The standards a, a, 
are bound with cross bars n, n. 

c, c, are the wharves or whorls, turned by a 
band from the horizontal tin cylinder in the lines 
of E, E,fig. 16, lying in the middle line between 
the two parallel rows of spindles d, d. f, f, are 




the bobbins containing the untwisted doubled silk, 
which are simply pressed down upon the taper 
end of the spindles, d, d, are little fliers, or fork- 
ed wings of wire, attached to washers of wood, 
which revolve loose upon the tops of the said bob- 



bins F, and round the spindles. One of the wings 
is sometimes bent upwards, to serve as a guide to 
the silk, as shown by dotted lines in^^"'. 18. e,e, 
are pieces of wood pressed upon the tops of the 
spindles, to prevent the fliers from starting off by 
the centrifugal force, g, arc horizontal shafts 
bearing a number of little spur wheels /, /. h, 
are slot-bearings, similar to those of the doubling- 
machine, which are fixed to the end and middle 
frames. In these slots, the light square cast-iron 
shafts or spindles g, fig. 17, are laid, on whose 
end the spur wheel h is cast ; and when the shaft 
g lies in the front slot of its bearing, it is in gear 
with the wheel /, upon tha shaft g ; but when it 
is laid in the back slot, it is out of gear, and at 
rest. See f, F,fig. 14. 

Upon these little cast-iron shafts or spindles g, 
fig. 19, the bobbins or blocks i, are thrust, for re- 
ceiving, by winding-en, the twisted or spun silk. 
These blocks are made of a large diameter, in or- 
der that the silk fibres may not be too much bent, 
and they are but slightly filled, at each succes- 
sive charge, lest, by increasing their diameter too 
much, they should produce too rapid an increase 
in the rate of winding, with proportional diminu- 
tion in the twist, and risk of stretching or tearing 
the silk. They are, therefore, the more frequent- 
ly changed, k, k, are the guide bars, with the 
guides i, i, through which the silk passes, being 
drawn by the revolving bobbins i, and delivered 
or laid on the fliers d, d, from the rotatory twisting 
bobbins f. The operation of the machine is there- 
fore simple, and the motions are given to the 
parts in a manner equally so. 

Upon the shaft of the tin cylinder or drum, ex- 
terior to the frame, the usual fast and loose pul- 
leys, or riggers, l, l', are mounted, for driving the 
whole machine. These riggers are often called 
sleam pulleys by the workmen, from their being 
connected by bands with the steam-driven shaft 
of the factory. In order to allow the riggers upon 
the shafts of the upper and the under drums to be 
driven from the same pulley upon the main shaft, 
the axis of the under drum is prolonged at l, l', 
and supported at its end, directly from the floor, 
by an upright bearing. Upon the shafts of the 
tin cylinders there is also a fly-wheel m, to equal- 
ize the motion. Upon the other ends .f these 
shafts, namely, at the end of the spinning-miU, 
represented in fig. 16, the pinions 1, are fixed, 
which drive the wheels 3, by means of the inter- 
mediate or carrier wheel 2 ; called alsjo the plate- 
wheel, from its being hollowed somcwliat like a 
trencher. 1, is called the change-pinion, because 
it is changed for another, of a different size and 
different number of teeth, when a change in the 
velocity of wheels 2 and 3 is to be made. To 
allow a greater or smaller pinion to be applied at 
1, the wheel 2 is mounted upon a stud A-, which is 
moveable in a slot concentric with the axis of the 
wheel 3. This slot is a branch from the cross- 
bar N. The smaller the change-pinion is, the 
nearer will the stud k approach to the vertical 
line joining the centres of wheels 1 and 3 ; and 
the more slowly will the plate wheel 2, be driven. 
To the spur wheel 3, a bevel wheel 4, is fi-\ed, 
with which the other also revolves loose upon the 
stud. The bevel wheel 5, upon the shaft I, is 
driven by the bevel wheel 4 ; and it communi- 
cates motion, by the bevel wheels 6 and 7, to each 



History and Cullure of Silk. 



21 



of the horizontal shafts o, g, extending along the 
upper and under tiers of the machine. At the 
left-hand side of the top part of fig. 16, the two 
wheels 6 and 7 are omitted, on purpose to show 
the bearings of the shaft g, as also the slot-bear- 
ings for carrying the shafts or skewers of the bob- 
bins. 

If it be desired to communicate twist in the 
opposite direction to that which would be given 
by the actual arrangement of the wheels, it is ne- 
cessary merely to transpose the carrier wheel 2, 
from its present position on the right hand of pin. 
ion 1, to the left of it, and to drive the tin cylin- 
der by a crossed or close strap, instead of a 
straight or open one. 

The traverse motion of the guide is given here 
in a similar way to that of the engine, {fig. 3.) 
Near one of the middle or cross-frames of the mei- 
chine (see fig. 18) the wheel/, in gear with a 
spur wheel k, upon one of the block-shafts, drives 
also a spur wheel m, that revolves upon a stud, to 
which wheel is fixed a bevel wheel n, in gear with 
the bevel wheel o. To wheel o, the same me- 
chanism is attached as was described under ,^^s. 
7 and 8, and which is here marked with the 
same letteri. 

To the crank-knob r,fig. 18, a rodar, is attach, 
cd, which moves or traverses the guide bar be- 





longing to that part of the machine ; to each ma- 
chine one such apparatus is fitted. In fia-s. 20 
and 21 another mode of traversing the guide barfs 





shown, which is generally used for the coarser 
qualities of silk. Near to one of the middle 
frames, one of the wheels /, in gear with the spur 
wheel m, and the bevel wheel n, both revolving 
on one stud, gives motion also to the wheel o, 
fixed upon a shaft a', at whose other end the 
elliptical wheel b' is fixed, which drives a second 
elliptical wheel c', in such a way that the larger 
diameter of the one plays in gear with the smdler 
diameter of the other ; the teeth being so cut as to 
take into each other in all positions. The crank- 
piece d' is screwed upon the face of the wheel c', 
at such a distance from 
its centre as may be ne- 
cessary to give the de- 
sired length of traverse 
motion to the guide bar 
for laying the silk spiral- 
ly upon the blocks. The purpose of the elliptical 
wheel is to modify the simple crank motion, 
which would wind on more silk at the ends of 
the bobbins than in their middle, and to effeet an 
equality of winding on the whole surface of the 
blocks. In^^. 21 the elliptical wheels are shown 
in front, to illustrate their mode of operating upon 
each other. Fig. 22 is a block filled by the motion 
of the eccentric, fig. 18 ; 
and fig. 23 is a block fill- 
ed by the elliptical me- 
chanism. As the length 
of the motions of the bar 
in the latter construction 
remains the same during 
the whole operation, the 
silk, as it is wound on 
the blocks, will slide over 
the edges, and thereby 
produce the flat ends of 
the barrel in ^^.23. The 
conical ends of the block 
(fig. 22) are produced by 
the continually shortened 
motions of the guide bar, 
as the stud approaches, 
in its sun-and-planet rota- 
tion, nearer to the general 
ih centre. 

Figs. 24, 25, are two 
different views of the dif- 
ferential mechanism de. 
scribed under ^^. 18. 

The bent wire x, fig. 
18, is called the guide r 
iron. It is attached at 
one end to the pivot of 
the sun-and-planet wheel- 




25 



55 



work t, $, 0, and at the other to the guide bar /, 
/, fig. 17. The Bilk threads pass through the 
guides, as already explained. By the xnotion 



1^ J 



ooxnmanieated to the guide bar, (guider,) the dia. 
mond pattern is produced, as shown iafig. 22. 
B 



22 



History and Culture of Silk, 



THE SILK AUTOMATIC REEL. 

In this machine, the silk is unwound from the 
blocks of the thro wing-mill, and formed into hanks 
for the market. The blocks being of a large size, 
would be productive of much friction, if made to 
revolve upon skewers thrust through them, and 
would cause frequent breakage of the silk. They 
are, therefore, set with their axes upright upon a 
board, and the silk is drawn from their surface, 
just as a weft is from a cop in the shuttle. On 



this account the previous winding-on must be ex- 
ecuted in a very regular manner: and preferably 
as represented in fig, 22. 

Fig. 22 is a front view of the reel ; little more 
than one-half of it being shown. Fig. 27 is an 
end view. Here the steam pulleys are omitted, 
for fear of obstructing the view of the more essen- 
tial parts. A, A, are the two end framings, con- 
nected by mahogany stretchers, which form the 
table B, for receiving the bobbins c, c, which arc 
sometimes weighted at top with a lump of lead, 




to prevent their tumbling, d, is the reel, consist- 
ing of four long laths of wood, which are fixed 
upon iron frames, atta bed to an octagonal wood- 
en shaft. The arm wnich sustains one of these 
laths is capable of being bent inwards, by loosen- 
ing a tightening hook, so as to permit the hanks, 
when finished, to be taken off, as in every com- 
mon reel. 

The machine consists of two equal parts, cou- 
pled together at a, to facilitate the removal of the 
silk from either half of the reel ; the attendant 
first lifting the one part, and then the other, e, 
is the guide bar, which by a traverse motion 
causes the silk to be wound on in a cross direc- 
tion, b, and c, are the wire guides, and d, are 
little levers lying upon the cloth covered guide 
bar E. The silk, in its way from the block to the 
reel, passes under these levers, by whicli it is 
cleaned from loose fibres. 

On the other end of the shaft of the reel, the 
■pur wheel 1 is fixed, which derives motion from 
wheel 2, attached to the shaft of the steam-pulley 
V. Upon the same shaft there is a bevel wheel 3, 
which impels the wheel 4 upon the shaft e ; to 
whose end a plate is attached, to which the crank 
/ is screwed, in such a way as to give the proper 
length of traverse motion to the guide bar e, con- 
nected to that crank or eccentric stud by the joint- 
ed rod g. Upon the shaft of the steam-pulleys 
T, there is a worm or endless screw, to the left of 
ft fig' 37, which works in a wheel 5, attached to 



the short upright shaft h, {fig, 26.) At the end 
of h, there is another worm, which works in a 
D 




wheel 6 ; at whose circumference there ia a stud 



History and Culture of Silk. 



23 



7, which strikes once at every revolution against 
an arm attached to a bell, seen to the left of g ; 
thus announcing to the reel tender that a rncasur. 
cd length of silk has been wound upon her reel. 
<?, is a rod or handle, by which the fork /, with 
the strap, may be moved upon the fast or loose 
pulley, so as to set on or arrest the motion at plea- 
sure. 

Throwsters submit their silk to scouring and 
steaming processes. They soak the hanks, as 
imported, in luke-warm soap- water in a tub ; but 
the bobbins of the twisted single silk from the 
spinning mill are enclosed within a wooden chest, 
and exposed to the opening action of steam for 
about ten minutes. They are then immersed in 
a cistern of warm water, from which they are 
transferred to the doubling frame. 

There is a peculiar kind of silk called mora- 
hout, containing generally three threads, made 
from the white Novi raw silk. From its white, 
ness, it takes the most lively and delicate colors 
without the discharge of its gum. After being 
made into tram by the single twist upon the spin- 
ning mill, it is reeled into hanks, and sent to the 
dyer without further preparation. After being 
dyed, the throwster re-witids and re-twists it upon 
the spinning-mill, in order to give it the whipcord 
hardness which constitutes the peculiar feature of 
marabout. The cost of the raw Novi silk is 19s. 
6rf. a pound ; of throwing it into tram, 2s. %d. ; 
of dyeing, 2s. ; of re-winding and re-twisting, 
after it has been dyed, about 5s. ; of waste, 2s., 
or 10 per cent.; the total of which sum is 31s. — 
being the price of one pound of marabout in 1832. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Thf Mulberry Tree— lis Varieties and adaptation to the 
Climate — Comparative Value. 

For the following remarks on the Mulberry 
Tree, we are indebted to Mr. Colman's valuable 
Report : — 

In the silk culture it is perfectly obvious that 
the tree is matter of primary consideration. — 
There are several varieties of the Mulberry, on 
wliich the worms can be subsisted and made to 
produce silk, but the trees arc of very different 
values. 

The introduction of this extraordinary variety 
of the Mulberry, the Morus Multicaulis, or 
many stalked Mulberry, or, as I tiiink it 
should be called after the name of the spirited in- 
dividual who brought it into Europe, the Perottet 
Mulberry, led to the introduction of other valua- 
ble varieties. 

1. The Black Mulberry, which is indeed a 
native of some parts of the country, is of different 
varieties, and will produce silk, though not equal- 
ly well ; but the silk made from worms fed upon 
this tree is harsh and coarse. The tree will en- 
dure our climate well, but for the reasons above 
given, it is not an eligible variety. 

2. The White Mulberry is not indigenous* in 
the country ; and was imported into Europe cen- 
turies ago from Asia, but it has now been for 
years so widely extended, that it is as familiar as 
any of our nat ive trees. It is universally conce- 

' Doul);ed. I, R. B. 



ded that the leaves of the white mulberry are as 
favorable to the health and growth of the worms, 
;ind to the production of silk, both in respect to 
quantity and quality, as any which is known. — 
I'he white mulberry is comparatively a hardy 
tree, though in severe winters it is generally kill- 
ed at the extremities of the smaller branches ; and 
m the cold winter of 1834-5, when a great 
amount of the tender varieties of the apple were 
destroyed, the white mulberry suffered as severe- 
ly as other trees. At this time nearly two-thirds 
of the white mulberry growing in Mansfield, 
Conn., and, even trees of an advanced age, were 
utterly destroyed. 

[We are informed that this tree is highly valu- 
able for all purposes where the Locust has here- 
tofore s'ood preeminent. Its remarkable quali- 
ties for durability have long been known and ap. 
preciated on Long I.sland.] 

Among the white mulberry trees, valuable se- 
lections in respect to the size of the leaf niay be 
made with great advantage. Its thriftiness, like 
that of other plants, depends upon its cultivation, 
and it is susceptible of great improvement by a 
careful engrafting of scions from the best kinds, 
into others of the same species. This mode of 
improvement has been long practised by European 
cultivators, and with great success. Among the 
French, engrafting is considered indispensable. 

3. The Broussa mulberry is a variety introdu- 
ced into the country from Smyrna and Constan- 
tinople, and propagated without difficulty from 
the seed. The leaf of this tree is not larger than 
that of the white mulberry. Its foliage is very 
thickly set on the branches ; and the leaves are 
thick and heavy, as well as abundant. They 
are healthy for the worms. They produce a good 
silk. They endure the climate of New England 
without injury. I have not seen trees of this kind 
of any large size ; but tho?«, which I have seen, 
threw up very numerous branches from the roots, 
and yielded a large amount of foliage. 

4. The Alpine denotes another variety, which 
has been greatly commended. The designation of 
this variety, if it is to be called a variety, belongs 
to this country. Samuel Whitmarsh, of North, 
ampton, who has been prominent in his enterpri- 
zing attempts to introduce the culture of silk into 
the United States, in 1834, visited Italy and 
France for the purpose of obtaining from the 
fountain head, and in the most authentic form, 
the desired information in regard to the silk cul- 
ture. In visiting in Italy the neighborhood of 
the Alps, he found there a species of the mulber- 
ry, said to have been introduced into that country 
from China, and called the Chinese mulberry, 
which was in high repute among the silk grow- 
ers, and which had proved capable of enduring 
without injury the rigors of a climate as severe at 
least as that of New England. He brought a 
considerable quantity of the seeds to this countrv, 
and they have been extensively diffused. It "is 
understood that, from the product of these seeds, 
he has made abundant selections, which he deno. 
minates the Alpine, by which name these trees 
are now generally known. The results from the 
planting of this seed have not every where given 
equal satisfaction, and many contend that they 
are not superior to the white mulberry. It is not 
for me to become a party in these disputes. — 



24 



History and Culture of Silk. 



There is little reason to suppose that the trees 
now called Alpine are an original variety. The 
leaf is of a large size, generally heart-shaped, but 
many of them with deep indentures or lobed . They 
endure the winter well. Of their influence upon 
the health of the worms, and of the quality of 
silk, which they produce, I have, as yet, no satis, 
factory information. I have not been able to 
hear of any exact experiment in the use of them ; 
excepting a small one, to which I shall presently 
refer. 

5. The Perottet Mulberry, or the Morus 
MuLTicAULis, that is, the many stalked mulberry, 
denotes another variety, of which I have already 
spoken, and of such pre-eminent notoriety, that it 
is destined to be immortalized in the history of 
commercial transactions, if not of agriculture. — 
This tree was brought from Manilla to France by 
M. Perottet, in the year 1820 ; and to this coun- 
try more than ten years since. It is remarkable 
for its rapidity of growth, and the shoots which it 
throws up ; and from this circumstance derives 
its name. Its leaf is plainly distinguishable from 
other kinds of mulberry leaf. It is heart-shaped, 
and has a flaccid, loose, and on its upper side a 
concave appearance, looking as if the ribs of the 
leaf were not sufficiently spread to allow of the 
surface to be stretched to its full extent, which 
gives it the appearance of dried clothes before 
they are ironed. It hangs vertically upon the 
branch, and to an inexperienced eye, would appear 
like a leaf in which the circulation had been ar- 
rested. I have seen silk of the finest description 
made from worms fed upon the leaves of this tree. 
This silk would not suffer by comparison with 
any other. The worms devour the leaves of this 
tree greedily, and as far as it has been tried here, 
it seems favorable to their health and growth. — 
The leaf often acquires a large size, though the 
foliage would naturally be larger while the tree is 
small, and formed upon recently grown wood, 
than it would be if the tree were allowed to form 
a standard tree, and should attain several years' 
growth. The great advantages, which are relied 
upon in respect to this tree, are in the rapidity of 
its growth, the ease with which it can be multi- 
plied, the abundance of its foUage, and the great 
faciUty with which the leaves may be gathered. 

This tree has been so much the subject of spec- 
ulation, that it has become matter of no little dif- 
ficulty to determine what is true in respect to it. 
Individuals, under the influence of private inter- 
est, have indulged in calculations respecting it, 
80 extravagant, that all sobriety seems at once 
distanced, and we are transported into the upper 
regions of pure fiction. The extraordinary value 
of the tree, however, is unquestionable ; and the 
introduction of it into the country, must be con- 
sidered a distinguished benefaction ; but that it is 
the best tree for the cultivators of silk in New 
England, is not so well established. 

The tree does not appear to be used, certainly 
it is not preferred, in China. A gentleman in the 
vicinity of Boston, who had been himself a resi- 
dent in Canton for many years, and who could 
command the services and influence of the most 
intelhgent and influential merchants of that city, 
ordered two thousand of the most valuable tree 
used in the country, to be shipped to him. — 
Five hundred of these survived the passage ; but 



the Multicaulis is not among them. The Amer- 
ican missionaries, who have sent to this country 
seeds of the best mulberry which they could pro- 
cure, did not, it is understood, find the Multicau- 
lis in use in China for the production of silk. The 
proximity of Manilla, where this tree was foimd, 
to Canton, and the constant intercommunication 
between the two places, would long since have 
caused the introduction of this tree into China, 
had it been preferred ; but it is understood to have 
been carried from Canton to Manilla. It is valu- 
ed, but certainly is not preferred in Italy ; nor in 
Germany, where the silk culture, which was 
given up about half a century since, is now reviv- 
ing and strongly urged upon the people on the 
same grounds of public and private economy, on 
which it is advocated here. 

I take the liberty of subjoining, on this subject, 
an extract from the private journal of a highly in- 
telligent friend, entirely disinterested in the case, 
who, with his family, have recently returned from 
Euiope, and who made the silk ciilture matter of 
particular but merely incidental inquiry. 

" When visiting the botanic garden, at Mont- 
pelier, Professor De Lisle gave us his decided 
opinion against the Morus Multicaulis as food for 
the silk worm. One of the reasons was that the 
leaves, in comparison with those of the French 
mulberry, are thin and weak, and will not bear a 
single day's wilting without becoming dry and 
crisp, and unfit for the worm. Altliough the Mul- 
ticaulis is prolific, and the leaves are large, still it 
produces less in weight than the common French, 
which bears a red or black fruit, grows freely at 
Montpclier, sending up straight shoots even from- 
old trees that have been topped down, as they 
generally are there. Of course the leaves are ea- 
sily gathered by a sweep of the hand along the 
branches, an object of importance there, and still 
more so where labor is dear. 

" The professor's reasons for condemning the 
Multicaulis is more important there than else- 
where, because the leaves when gathered arc sold 
by the pound to the worm feeders ; and a leaf 
which lasts good only one day is objectionable. The 
tender nature of the tree, too, is an objection at 
Montpclier, because though the climate is milder 
than in the northern parts of France, the sudden 
changes from heat to cold in the early spring are 
too severe ; whilst further north the leaves start 
late, and suffer less in consequence." 

The Chevalier Soulange Bodin, one of the high- 
est authorities in Europe, in a recent private let- 
ter, speaks of the "Morus Multicaulis as a tree 
of which much good and much evil has been said 
— but hke other gifts from heaven, it is requisite 
that it should be managed with discretion, which 
is also a gift from heaven. The rapidity of itsf 
multiplication, the abundant product of its leaves, 
and the facility of collecting them, have certainly 
very much contributed, whatever may be the final 
result, to aid in the happy solution of a great ques- 
tion in agricultural and commercial economy, 
which has agitated with equal emulation the new 
as well as the ancient world." 

These testimonies are certainly disinterested ; 
and I shall leave them to have what forc« they 
may upon the minds of the inquisitive and intel- 
ligent. It is certain that the tree is not capable 
of enduring the rigors of our climate, unde; our 



History and Culture of Silk. 



25 



present modes of cultivation. In this state it has 
been repeatedly killed, and in this way great losses 
have been sustained. I do not despair, however, 
of its being acclimated here. The peach in its 
origin, is a tender plant from southern Asia ; and 
as that is now sufficiently sure to warrant its cul- 
tivation, we may hope that the Pcrottet mulber- 
ry may in like manner become a denizen of our 
soil. The plant is, in itself, after all reasonable 
abatements are made, of such extraordinary value, 
that every inquiry and effort should be made, by 
■which its security might be accomplished. 

The hazard of its destruction is not in propor- 
tion to the intensity of the cold. The season of 
greatest danger seems to be at the first coming of 
frosts. Then if the growth is luxuriant and the 
wood has not become matured, it perishes with 
the cold. Attempts have been made to preserve 
it by cutting the shoots near the ground in the 
autumn, and then covering the root with earth ; 
this has not succeeded to secure them. Yet there 
are well authenticated cases in which the trees 
have been taken up, and then deposited under a 
wall with the roots merely covered with earth, 
and they have survived the winter well. This 
was done in Manchester, Conn. On the same 
farm, an attempt was made by cutting off the 
shoots and leaving the roots in the ground, with 
out covering, to test their hardiness. It was un- 
successful. The farmer attributed their loss, in 
a degree, to a heavy rain immediately after they 
were topped, by which he supposed the cut ends 
became saturated with water, which was follow- 
ed by a severe frost. The fact of their destruc- 
tion was undoubted. 

John Macomber, in Westport, Bristol county, 
whose nursery I visited, reports, that in the cold 
year of 1835-6, about one-half of his Perottet 
mulberry survived the winter ; and of those which 
were engrafted upon the white mulberry, not 
more than eight out of a hundred perished. 

William Kenrick, of Newton, near Boston, 
whose experience and skill as a nursery man are 
well known, in a recent private letter to me, says 
— " I have several trees of the Morus Multicaulis 
standing on Nonantum Hill, in an elevated and 
bleak situation, trees now of considerable size, 
which, unprotected, have borne well the severity 
of our late winters. In March, of this present 
year, two gentlemen of Windham county. Conn., 
called and desired to look at my trees, and 
brought me in a twig cut from the top of one of 
the trees, which had ripened to the very tip, and 
had stood the last most severe cold winter unin- 
jured. Yet I have since discovered that in some 
parts of tlie tops of these same trees, some of the 
young wood did not wholly escape uninjured. — 
Yet in aU the low valleys of the northern rivers 
which have their sources near the boundaries of 
■Canada, and in the low and extended plains of 
New England, the Multicaulis is liable to be in- 
jured in its tops by the extreme severity of the 
winter. In spring they rise up with a luxuriance 
of vegetation the most extraordinary. Hence the 
mulberry should be kept low like a plantation of 
raspberries, as is the case in China and in India. 
In this last named country, the mulberry tree, in 
all its varieties, is an ever-green tree, but a deci- 
duous tree in temperate regions. This same sys- 
tem is now extending itself in France, as has al- 



ready the system of close planting and of low 
training, been adopted almost universally as to 
the vine in vineyard culture, in all the north and 
middle sections of that country." 

Mr. Kenrick adds, " In my frequent visits to 
Portsmouth, in lower Virginia, in lat. 37 deg. 12 
min., in the years 1838 and 1839, both during 
winter and summer, I have particularly observed 
extensive plantations ; the trees at that place, in 
their hardihood, bearing perfect resemblance to 
the oak, the wood of the second year ripening to 
the very tip. At Middletown, in Monmouth 
county, N. J., lat. 40 deg. 22 min., this same 
mulberry equally defies the severity of all their 
winters. This is nearly opposite Staten Island." 

" The Morus Multicaulis is the only species of 
mulberry known which grows equally as freely 
from the cuttings as the willow. The variety 
called Canton roots not near so freely either from 
cuttings or from layers, while the Alpine, so call- 
ed, is still more difficult to strike root, either from 
cuttings or layers." 

Mr. Kenrick has been a highly successful cul- 
tivator and seller of the Perottet mulberry. His 
character, where he is known, is a guau-anty 
against any intentional misrepresentation on his 
part. His good fortune in the sale of his trees 
has enabled him, if so he pleases, to change the 
plain steel bows of his spectacles into golden ones ; 
but whether it has had any effect upon the glass- 
es themselves, we must submit to the judgment 
of others. 

The Northampton cultivators, as far as I know, 
universally, and Timothy Smith, of Amherst — 
upon whose careful judgment and experience 
much reliance may be placed, as well as Calvin 
Haskell, of Harvard, who has been a long time 
engaged in the cultivation of the mulberry — unite 
emphatically, in the opinion that the Perottet is 
not sufficiently hardy for our climate; and to cul- 
tivate it with any view to leave it exposed to the 
rigors of our climate would be a hazardous, and 
in all probability an utterly futile attempt. The 
testimony of many other cultivators of the Perot- 
tet mulberry, in tliis State, entirely concur in the 
opinions expressed above. 

AVith respect to the value of the Multicaulis 
leaf as feed for the worms, D. McLean, of New 
Jersey, expresses the opinion that it may be too 
succulent for the health of the worms ; though it 
does not appear that the worms fed by him on the 
Multicaulis or Perottet mulberry suffered in this 
way. This is the opinion of other cultivators of 
silk ; but farther experiments are desired before 
this point can be established. 

Miss Gertrude Rapp, of Economy, Perm., in a 
letter to the editor of the American Silk Journal, 
says : — 

" In regard to the mulberry, I would earnestly 
recommend, especially to the silk growers of the 
northern and middle states, not to neglect the cul- 
tivation of the white Italian or a similar mulber- 
ry tree, as by raising the Multicaulis only, the 
best crops (which are produced in the fore part of 
the summer) are lost. The Multicaulis is a most 
excellent addition to, but not a perfect substitute 
for, the other kinds. They ought to go together. 
Several years ago, we received among other kinds 
a kind of mulberry under the double name of mo- 
rus broussa or expansa, which we now endeavor 



26 



History and Culture of SilJc. 



to multiply (by grafting) as fast as possible, as it 
possesses all the excellent qualities of the Italian, 
besides having large, heavy, glossy leaves, which 
are gathered with less than half the labor of the 
■white Italian. Such silk growers as possess this 
kind, would undoubtedly do well to propagate 
it as fast as possible along with the Multi- 
caulis." 

Miss Rapp's authority on this subject is as high 
as any in the country. The morns broussa and 
the morns expansa, or Roman mulberry, which 
have come under my observation, are quite differ. 
ent varieties. 

Among us in general, the Perottet mulberry has 
been cultivated in low, moist, and rich soils, in 
which case the growth is continued until very 
late in the season, and the wood is not sufficient- 
ly matured to withstand the frost. If placed, 
however, in situations less favorable to a luxuri- 
ant growth, and to the thriftiness of the tree, the 
size of the leaf and amount of foliage will of 
course be lessened. 

It is somewhat difficult, in respect to the hardi- 
ness of this plant, to reconcile these conflicting 
testimonies, and I shall not attempt to do it. — 
Without impugning, in any measure, the credit 
of any, however different the results to which they 
come, we may refer these different results to dif- 
ferences in aspect, soil, location, and cultivation ; 
and encourage the liope that presently the tree 
may become naturalized and safe among us. 

The weight of evidence, however, upon as fair 
a review of the case as I can take, and from my 
own extended personal observation, is altogether 
against its suitableness at present in a permanent 
plantation for the climate of Massachusetts. I 
shall speak presently of other modes of managing 
with it, by which the signal advantages which it 
proffers may be realized. 

[The above was written in February, 1840, at 
which time the amount of experience in regard to 
the ability of the Multicaulis to endure our north- 
ern winters was very limited. Subsequent expe- 
rience has tauglit us that they are as safe in Mas. 
sachusetts as in Virginia ; and, when rightly 
managed, are essentially safe any where. It is 
not the degree of cold that does the injury in this 
and similar cases, but sudden freezing and thaw- 
ing. The tree should be set on warm, dry corn 
land, in a good state of fertility, the roots set deep, 
and the ground ridged in the process of summer 
cultivation, especially if the field is a dead level. 
If the water in the winter is allowed to stand 
around them, it will kill them. The ground 
should be rich enough to secure a good extended 
root the first season. Jlanaged in this way, they 
are essentially safe any where between Canada 
and the Gulf of Mexico. Not managed thus, 
they are in danger any where, where it is cold 
enough for ice to form, and the ground to freeze. 
The unripe ends of the limbs and main stem also 
may, or may not be affected. But this is of no 
consequence, as we wish to take the brush all off in 
the spring, or in the process of summer feeding. 
All these remarks apply to the Canton mulberry 
with equal force, so far as my experience and ob- 
servation can testify.] I. R. B. 

6. The MoRus Expansa or Roman Mulberry, 
is another plant which has been introduced 
among us, producing a large leaf, and of a hardy 



character. I have not known the leaf used in 
any instance for feeding worms, unless the case 
of Miss Rapp, before referred to, is one ; and 
though I have seen a good many trees of this 
kind, yet they have all been subject to a decay or 
sort of gangrene in the bark, which, unless a per- 
manent remedy can be discovered, will effectueJ- 
ly discourage their cultivation. 

It does not comport with my particular objects 
to treat at large of the various kinds of mulberry 
known ; but only of those grown among ourselves, 
and upon whose culture and use for the feeding of 
worms experiments have been made. 

7. The Canton Mulberry is that which I next 
speak of. Tliis is an admirable plant. The his- 
tory of the introduction of this tree into the coun- 
try I am enabled to give in the most authentic 
form. D. Stebbins, of Northampton, the intelli- 
gent and active secretary of the Hampshire,. 
Hampden and Franklin Agricultural Society,, 
and ready to lend his service to aii}- and every 
good work, desired some of the American mis-> 
sionaiics to China, to procure some seed of the 
best tree cultivated in that empire for the feeding 
of worms. They transmitted parcels of tlais seed 
at two or three difi'erent times, from which this 
tree has been grown. In another case, John P. 
Cushing, of Watertown, a long time resident in 
Canton, ordered a shipment to be made to him 
from Canton of two thousand of the best tree for 
feeding worms, known in that country. Of this 
importation, five hundred only survived the 
voyage. These have been carefully nourished ; 
and with a liberality and public spirit, which has 
distinguished all Mr. Cushing's efforts to advance 
the cause of an improved agriculture, he has dis- 
tributed these plants among his friends and others, 
and the tree has become extensively diffused. — 
This tree produces a large, heavy, and beautiful 
leaf. I measured one among many equally large 
upon the same tree, which was thirteen inches in 
length by twelve and a half in width. Perhaps, 
in general, they are not so large as the Perottet 
mulberry, but they are in this respect little inferi- 
or ; and, in proportion to their size, they are con- 
siderably heavier. An acre of the Canton mul- 
berry would undoubtedly produce a greater weight 
of foliage than of the Perottet. They are a ten- 
der tree but more hardy than the Perottet ; and 
they may be propagated with about the same fa- 
cility. There is little doubt that this tree may 
be acclimated among us ; and it will then prove 
the most valuable tree, as yet known in the State, 
for the culture of silk. 

Dr. Stebbins, who has entered largely into the 
cultivation of tliis tree, passes very high encomi- 
ums upon its merits. He writes me, under date 
of 9th November last, " I have preserved the fo- 
liage of the large leaf Canton in preference to the 
Perottet, having thought that leaf best adapted to 
the feed of worms, for by experiments of the pre- 
sent year, the result has been as five to eight in 
favor of the Canton feed." This result was 
obtained by weighing in accurate scales the co- 
coons made from each kind of leaf. He adds, 
that " of the cocoons obtained by feeding upon 
the Canton exclusively, and the white mulberry 
exclusively, those from the Canton leaf were one- 
third heavier than the other." .n.nother person 
from Ohio writes to him, " that the produce of 



History and Culture nf Silk. 



2f 



the Canton by the acre is twice as much as that 
of the Multicaulis." 

These are strong encomiums ; but I believe 
not undeserved, from what in regard to the culti- 
vation of the tree has come under my own obser- 
vation. I might add other testimonies in favor 
of the Canton ; among others that of Edwin 
Newbury, a very exact observer and cultivator of 
Brooklyn, Conn. — and that of Timothy Smith, of 
Amherst, Mass., both of whom, from repeated ex- 
periments, give their decided preference to the 
Canton mulberry over all others. 

Many persons are inclined to believe that the 
Canton is not more hardy than the Perottct ; Mr. 
Smith's experience leads to a different conclusion. 
I have also the pleasure to add here the actual 
experience of D. Haggerston, of Watertown, the 
farm manager of J. P. Cushing ; and on whose 
knowledge and skill in the management of these 
plants, as much reliance can be placed as on 
those of any man in the country. His testimony 
likewise must be regarded as entirely disinter- 
ested. 

He states, that with him the Perottet mulberry 
has been killed three winters out of five, root and 
branch; and two winters to the ground. The 
Canton trees on the same lot, with the same ex- 
posure, have stood the winter, having been killed 
not below a foot from the ground. He adds, like- 
wise, that of some Canton, which were taken up 
the last fall, and the roots only covered, in other 
respects exposed to the weather, are all now 
(March, 1840,) wholly uninjured. The Cantou 
trees, which were not covered, have come out 
better than those which had some covering thrown 
over them, besides having their roots buried. Of 
the trees referred to in the first case, two hundred 
of the Canton were left exposed, and about twelve 
of the Perottet. Some of the Canton referred to 
were from seed imported from Canton ; the re- 
mainder were part of the original importation of 
trees, of which I have before spoken. Upon 
weighing twenty leaves of the Canton and twen- 
ty of the Perottet, taken as nearly alike as possi- 
ble, the difference in favor of the Canton was 
nearly an ounce. The Canton is as easily propa- 
gated as the Perottet; and, as a plant, nothing 
can be more beautiful. The leaf is large, lus- 
trous, heart-shaped, and serrated ; it is not pen- 
dant like the Perottet, and is not so tliickly set 
on the tree as the Broussa. 

In this discussion, however, having no private 
interests or partialities, I have nothing to keep 
back ; and I must add, therefore, that there are 
some cultivators who still deem it as tender as the 
Perottet. This may be accounted for, perhaps, in 
its particular location, if it be placed in a humid 
and rich soil, and in a situation liable to early 
frosts. The climate from which it comes is far 
north of that from which the Perottet is derived. 
Though from my own observation, and the nu- 
merous testimonies given me in the case, I can- 
not doubt its superior hardiness to the Perottet ; 
yet it is not as yet to be regarded as acclimated ; 
and it would be rash to expose any large planta- 
tion of the trees to the rigors of winter, until the 
habits of the plant are better understood. 

The smgular fact stated by Mr. Haggerston, 
that those Canton trees, whose tops were left j 
uncovered, suffered more than those whose roots 



and branches were both covered, is in a degree 
confirmed by a statement of Mr. Stebbins. — 
" The last winter," he says, " I left out about 
half an acre of Canton roots, of some of wliich I 
covered the stumps with turf, grass under ; oth- 
ers, with yard manure ; others, with earth ; oth- 
ers, with a little grass, hay, or leaves ; and others 
had no covering ; and these last were the best 
preserved ; and the next, those with the slighest 
covering; and those with the deepest covering 
were most injured : and some entirely destroyed 
by heat. 

The extraordinary and luxuriemt growth of 
which these trees are susceptible under favorable 
circumstances, is illustrated by a fact communi- 
cated from the missionaries at the Sandwich Is- 
lands in the Pacific ocean. " To show how fast 
trees grow here," the writer of the letter, to whom 
some Canton seed had been sent from this coun- 
try, says, " a tree came up in my garden on the 
9th of April. At the end of four months, meeu 
suring all the branches, it had grown 87 feet and 
had 533 leaves. At the end of six months, it had 
grown 153 feet, and had 939 leaves. It has now 
(9th January) been growing 9 months and 21 
days ; and has grown 461 feet, and is now grow- 
ing at the rate of two feet per day, which at the 
same rate would give 601 feet of wood to the 
year ; has two main stalks from the ground ; one 
is 5| inches in circumference ; and the other 5^ 
inches. 

In attempts to produce mulberry trees from 
seed, severe disappointments have been often ex- 
perienced. New varieties are often produced; 
but inferior plants likewise often show tliemselves. 
G. B. Perry, of Bradford, in an excellent essay on 
the culture of the mulberry, given in the Essex 
Agricultural Transactions for 1839-40, expresses 
an opinion that this may often arise from sowing 
improper seed, or the seed of inferior plants ; and 
in a German treatise on the silk culture, which I 
have recently received, a caution is given not to 
sow seed from plants whose leaves have been 
stripped for feeding tJie year. These are reason- 
able and valuable suggestions. 

As far, then, as the trees are concerned, the far- 
mers of Massachusetts have within their reach 
the best varieties yet known. These may be pro- 
pagated with perfect ease and to an indefinite 
extent. It would be desirable even to increase 
these varieties ; and for every farmer engaged in 
the culture of silk to cultivate some of the earlier 
kinds as well as the later, that he may begin the 
feeding of worms early, or that in case his eggs 
should prematurely be hatched, he may have a 
supply of food at hand before it can be expected 
to be obtained from the tender varieties. This is 
recommended by the experience of Miss Rapp, 
already referred to, as well as of many others. 

Private interests have been and arc still so 
much mixed up with the subject of mulberry 
trees, that great differences of opinion may be ex- 
pected to exist. Without having the interest of 
one cent in any mulberry speculation whatever, I 
have endeavored to give the most authentic in- 
formation on the subject; and in cases where 
what I have stated has not been verified by my 
own personal observation, I have relied upon per. 
sons in whose credibility I know that I can place 
confidence. 



28 



History and Culture of Silk. 



CHAPTER V. 

Policy of the Country — Morus Multicaulis Speculalinn 
— Its effects an the Silk Business in the United States 
— General Remarks on the Silk Culture* 

" For more than 100 years it has been well 
known, that silk of an excellent quality could be 
grown in this country. It was introduced into 
the early settlements of Virginia, Georgia and 
South-Carolina. It was also grown in Pennsyl- 
vania prior to the Revolution ; Dr. Franklin and 
other far-seeing men took an active interest in 
establishing the business. President Styles of 
Yale College, before and after the Revolution, 
labored assiduously to establish the business in 
!New-England, and the old town of Mansfield, 
Connecticut, and a few others in that vicinity 
became interested, and have been successfully 
engaged in it for sixty or seventy years.t But 
the spirit of the country and the general state 
of things, in those early times, were unpropi- 
tious, and forbade a mde extension of the busi- 
ness. The great difficulty was the want of a 
regular market for cocoons and raw silk, and that 
market was not created, because the spirit of the 
country was adverse to manufacturing establish- 
ments of every kind. The received doctrine of the 
country down to 1816, taught us by mother 
England, was that we were to be an agricultural 
and a commercial, but not a manufacturing 
people. 

" But the Tariff of 1816, settled the poUcy of the 
country in favor of domestic manufactures. The 
cotton business was the first to feel the beneficial 
effects of the change. The woolen business in 
like manner, mider subsequent modifications of 
the Tariff, became established. A manvfacturing 
spirit as the spirit of the age, was thus generated. 
This brought up again the whole question in 
regard to silk, as a pennanent business of the 
country. 

" As early as 18-26 the Congress of the United 
States began to call public attention to the cul- 
ture of Silk; and between that date and 1838, 
several documents of great value were issued by 
that body, designed to diffuse niformation and 
awaken a general interest in behalf of this busi- 
ness. Some of our State Legislatures also acted 
in reference to the same end ; and in addition to 

* I. K. liarbour's letter to Dr. H. Jewetl, of Dayton, Ohio. 

t I find in the Manuscript Silk Journal kept by Dr. Styles, 
from 1763 to 1791, vliich with otr.er manuscripts he left to 
the Library of Yale College, a great many interesting facts, 
as well as a regular record of his own labors in growing silk, 
from 1763 to 1773. I give the following entries : 

1763, July 2S. — Cocoons received at the Public Filature 
jn Savannah, Georgia : 

A.D. 1757 1,052 lbs. 

" 1758 7,(140 lbs. 

I ai- «* 1759 10,0001bs. 

" 176-2 15,000 lbs. 

1764, July 3.— Capt. Darden tells me, that a gentleman in 
Georgia raised this year 600 lbs. cocoons, which he sold at 
the filature for It. 6d. sterling per pound. 

1765, August 3. Rev. Mr. Gilbert, who arrived in 

Charleston, S. C, in April last year, with the French Pro- 
testants, that have formed the settlement of New BordeauN, 
ill Hillsborough Township, has succeeded so well in the 
eilk culture, that he raised six hundred and twenty pomirfs 
of cocoons this year, upon the plantation of Gabriel Mani- 
gold. Esq., called the Silk Hope. 

1771, July 3. — The Philadelphia paper says : "We learn 
that above 600 lbs. of cocoons, most of them of excellent 
quality, have been already brought to the Public Filature in 
this city ; the silk produced from them being of extraordi- 
nary beauty " 



this, about one half of the States enacted laws 
granting bounties upon cocoons and reeled silk. — 
Silk Journals were, in due time, established ; 
and the newspaper press throughout the coimtry 
generally exerted a friendly influence in behalf of 
this new and promising form of home industry. 
Much general information was thus diffused, the 
public mind was arrested, and a very desirable 
measure of confidence inspired. 

" As a matter of course, there sprang up a grow- 
ing demand for mulberry trees. As was na- 
tural, this demand was supplied by our nurseiy- 
men, and by those who had actually engaged in 
growing silk, and in connection with that busi. 
ness. At first there was little or no buying to 
sell — little or no speculation. For ten years, cer- 
tainly, there was no general excitement on the 
subject. The trade in trees, therefore, was per- 
fectly healthy ; and continued so up to the fall 
of 1838. At this time a new state of things be- 
gan to be developed. That spirit of speculation 
with wliich the country v/as filled, and which 
had expended its fury upon Eastern lands and 
Western lands, and village lots, and fancy stocks, 
and about every thing else bearing the name of 
property, fastened its deadly fangs upon the mul- 
berry trade. Trees at once took a sudden advance 
to 40, 50, and 75 cents. The whole community, 
throughout our widely extended territory, seemed 
to be moved, and all men ready to embark in the 
Silk business. In the expectation, therefore, of 
quick sales in the Spring, trees were extensively 
propagated in the Winter, in green houses, and 
upon the tropical islands. Orders were also sent 
to France for large shipments, all which were 
ready for the Spring business. Still the supply 
did not equal the demand, and prices advanced 
to $1 and ^1 25, and, and in many cases yet 
higher. Men of small means, and large means, 
and no means, were all eager to go into the Silk 
business. And there were small investments and 
large investments ; all sums from $20 up to as 
many thousands. Every body must needs have 
a hand in the Silk bU'Siness. But, mark one 
thing. Not one in ten thought any thing, cared 
any thing, knew any thing, or ever wished to 
know any thing, in regard to the appropriate use 
of the mulberry — making silk. Tjue, indeed, to 
put on appearances, they might, or might not, 
feed a few worms. But it was the tree business 
on which their eyes were fixed — the tree business 
that filled their every thought, sleeping and wak- 
ing; and limited the utmost purpose of their 
mind. And this it was that laid the foundation 
for their own disappointment and the utter pros- 
tration of the trade. With an exclusive regard 
to the large profits expected from tiees, they 
could not of course stop to study the general sub- 
ject, and in many cases they were intellectually 
incapable of understanding the large, compre- 
hensive views, on which the business, as a busi- 
ness of the country, rests. Hence, as a body, 
they had no intelligent, well-based confidence 
in the merits of the business — "no root in them- 
selves" — nothing by which to bear up against 
any pressure of outward difiicullies — difficulties 
that were even then gathering and thickening 
upon them, albeit they knew it not. I state this 
point here, and thus distinctly, because the final 
catastrophe cannot otherwise be understood. 



History and Culture of Silk. 



29 



" In April and May the trees were planted, and 
as early as July contracts began to be made for 
the growing trees, and continued to be made 
through the Summer at prices ranging from 15 
to 37i cents. These were about the prices which 
had been anticipated. 

" To show the disastrous bearingsof the mone- 
tary affairs of the country, in a special degree, 
on tliis business, it is necessary here to say that 
these contracts were to be consummated when 
the trees were done growing — in October. So 
also, in many cases, in the Winter and Spring, 
trees were bought to plant on credit, or funds 
hired to pay for them, depending on the Fall sales 
to meet the engagements. Thus about all con- 
tracts connected with this whole business — con- 
tracts involving millions of dollars, and extended 
all over the Atlantic and many of the Western 
States, were thrown into that month. In the 
meantime the financial affairs of the country, as 
you and all business men well recollect, were 
growing worse and worse all that Summer. The 
banks were shortening their discounts from 
month to month, until the 9th of October, when 
the United States Bank failed for the second 
time. Upon this all the local banks stopped dis- 
counts, and those South and West of New- York 
generally stopped specie payments. This most 
disastrous turn of things threw about all our bu- 
siness men in the land into scenes of sudden and 
unlocked for embarrassments, and multitudes 
were at once involved in hopeless bankruptcy. — 
And that month, the month of October, 1839, is 
burnt indelibly upon the recollections of thou- 
sands of excellent men in all the departments of 
business, who will never read this incidental re. 
ference to their past sufferings. 

"But these mulberry contracts, large and small, 
throughout the country, as before stated, all 
came along in that ill-fated month. And what 
was the necessary consequence ? Why, it was 
a general and a simultaneous failure among the 
contractors, especially the large operators, who 
depended more directly upon bank facilities to 
meet their engagements. What was the next re- 
sult ? An immense amount of trees were thrown 
back upon the growers, or in some form pushed 
into the market to be got off at forced sales. 
This of course caused a sudden and a great de- 
preciation of prices. 

" Yet this was only the heginning of the trouble. 
There was at this time, interest enough, and 
confidence enough in the Silk business, in the 
community, to have sustained this shock, severe 
as it was, if there had been nothing more, or 
nothing worse. But in this critical juncture of 
affairs, a juncture demanding the utmost cool- 
ness, and firmness on the part of all interested, a 
universal and uncontrolled panic seized the great 
body of the smaller dealers — The men who had 
invested from ,^50 to $500, and who constituted 
the great numerical majority, perhaps ninctecn- 
twentieths of the whole number interested in 
trees. As if by some unseen, uncontrollable power, 
these men were every where seized with a fixed 
determination to get rid of their trees at any 
price, and on any terms. Talk with them ? As 
well talk with the whistling wind. Explain to 
them the financial causes that had been at work 
to produce this temporary depression on this, and 



on all business ? As a class, they were too ig- 
norant of general business to understand any of 
these questions. Unfold to them the essential 
merits of the Silk business, the great principles 
on which it is based, as a permanent business of 
the country ? It was too late in the day to teach 
them this neglected lesson. Selling trees, selling 
trees — this was the only thing their eyes had been 
fixed upon, and now that trees had fallen 25 to 
50 per cent in a few weeks, they were deter, 
mined to be rid of them at all events. No in- 
struction, no remonstrance, no intreaty was of 
any avail. Fear had taken full, and uncontrolled 
possession of the mind ; and every day's rumor 
only extended and augmented the panic. Hence 
they at once began to run upon each other. If 
A. offered his trees at 20 cents, before night B. 
offered his at 18, and the next day C. had as 
good trees as ever grew at 16, and would even 
take less, rather than lose a sale, as he wanted 
money. So the alarm spread like wild fire. They 
run from one to another trying to gouge each 
other, and from neighbor to neighbor, betraying 
the utmost anxiety, and resorting to all manner 
of devices to effect sales. Wagons loaded with 
trees were driving, Jchu-Iike, from town to town, 
and in every direction, each load of course 
cheaper and better than any that had gone be- 
fore, or would come after. 

" In this way it did not take long to run the 
prices down to 5 or 6 cents. From 2 to 5 weeks 
did the job most effectually. Here the whole 
trade was brought to a dead stand. At 5 cents 
some small sales were perhaps made, but below 
this, nothing could be done. All the interest of 
the community in the business had been com- 
pletely used up, and all confidence destroyed. No 
body would touch a mulberry tree at any price. 
An entire revulsion had indeed come over the 
public mind in regard to the whole matter. The 
great body of the people understood not, even 
our more intelligent business men uninterested 
in the matter, understood not, the special causes, 
as here stated, that had combined to bring this 
business into such a forbidding and ominous 
shape ; but now that they are stated you will at 
once see the whole matter. The truth was the 
o^'iTners of trees proclaimed, by their conduct 
that they themselves had no confidence at all in 
the intrinsic value of their trees, and it was per- 
fectly natural, therefore, that every body should 
believe them, and finally refuse to take them at 
any price : so that they now have this cool com- 
fort, that they, themselves, by their own folly, 
ruined the trade, and brought down upon their 
own heads the very evils they were struggling to 
avert. Beyond all question, all the trees in the 
country would have been put in requisition for 
makmg Silk, at 10 to 12 cents if none had been 
offered for less. 

" It was at the South where this strange work 
began. It was there where the crash in our 
moneyed institutions began — there where the fail- 
ures among the large dealers in trees began, and 
there where the subsequent panic among the 
smaller ones began. But the causes spread as 
rapidly as steam and horse power could spread 
them ; and the same disastrous results every where 
followed in quick time : so that by the last of No. 
vember the work was all done up throughout the 



30 



History and Culture of Silk. 



country, and every thing settled down to a dead 
calm. Nothing was heard, save the muttered 
curses of the disappointed speculators, and the 
self congratulations of the wise ones, who, from 
the commencement of the silk business, had been 
foretelling ruin, and only ruin, to all concerned 
in it. This class of men must needs, of course, 
take every occasion to let it be known that they 
never had any faith in this new business ; that 
they always knew it was all moonshine ; that 
silk cannot be made in this country ; only they 
didn't think the bubble would burst quite so 
soon. 

" Thus things remained through the coming 
winter, yet the hope was cherished, that sales 
would revive in the spring : and, in anticipation 
of this, the auction cellars in New- York, Phila- 
delphia, Baltimore and other centres of the busi- 
ness were filled with trees, and hundreds of thou- 
sands were buried in sand banks in the country, 
waiting the anxious event. But the spring came, 
bringing along with it other desirable things, but 
no demand for mulberry trees. The money affairs 
of the country remained yet unimproved, and of 
course there were no central movements in this 
business. But more than all, the public sympathies 
on this subject had been completely exhausted, by 
the course pursued the preceding autumn, and the 
great body of the people seemed to have settled 
down quite at ease in the conclusion, that the 
Silk business had been tried, and found wanting ; 
and that notliing more would ever be heard 
about it, except in the history of by-gone delusions. 
And the owners of trees themselves, in unnum- 
bered instances, as if in the pitiful vexation of 
disappointed hopes, or as the means of regaining 
the good opinion of their neighbors, joined in the 
ehouts of popular triumph over the prostrated 
folly ; and, to bring forth fruits meet for repent- 
ance, doomed their hated trees to the flames and 
the floods. The extent to which the destruction 
of trees was carried in 1840 is almost incredible. 
The auction cellars, before alluded to, were emp- 
tied into the streets, and thence transferred to the 
docks. Hundreds of thousands buried in sand 
banks in the fall of 1839, remain undisturbed 
to this day,* and acres upon acres that were left 
standing in the field were ploughed up, and burnt 
by the road side. A friend in New-Jersey wrote 
me, that at least nine-tenths of all the trees in 
the neighborhood of Philadelphia were thus wan- 
tonly destroyed. The same, I apprehend, is es- 
sentially true in regard to all the other great 
centres of the speculation. And according to 
the best estimates that can now be made, it is 
presumed, that at least three-fourths of all the 
trees with which the country had been supplied, 
by importation, and by propagation, in the space 
of some 12 years, and at an expense of many 
hundreds of thousands of dollars, have been in 
this wanton and inconsiderate manner, under 
the exasperations of disappointed hopes, and 
blasted expectations, consigned to destruction. 

" In some cases this destruction of trees was 
unavoidable. One owner perhaps had become 



* In the spring of 1841, a Triend in W. Conn, bid the wri- 
ter welcome to a lot of large leaf Cantons that had been 
buried two winters and one summer. I sent my team, dug 
them out, and brought them home, and planted them. They 
did as well as the average of trees. 



hopelessly involved in his affairs, and could not 
go on with the business. Another had more than 
he could possibly use for making silk, and of 
cnurse the remainder must perish. But in a great 
majority of cases the destruction arose from mo- 
tives as above alleged. 

" I am aware that there are other causes sup. 
posed to have had a special agency in bringing 
on the revulsion of public feeling here described. 
It has been often alledged, that there were ex- 
tended combinations among the principal dealers 
in trees, to run up prices : and extended combi- 
nations among those who wished to purchase, to 
run down prices. Of the truth of these charges, 
I have never seen any conclusive evidence on 
either side. And yet they may be all true. We 
know there is depravity in man, in unstinted 
measures, and whenever money is concerned, we 
expect to see its developements. Do we not see 
combinations, and all manner of contrivances, 
and arts, and deceptions in other departments of 
trade ? And yet all this wickedness, discovered 
or suspected, does not lead to such results as here 
described in regard to the mulberry trade. 

" It is perfectly evident, therefore, the grand, 
the all controlling cause, that led to this sudden 
and universal prostration of the tree business, was 
what I have here stated. Pray tell me, how 
could it be otherwise ? We always take it for 
granted, that men interested in any description of 
property, will over estimate, rather than under 
estimate its value. Another thing we always 
take for granted, and that is, when the owners, 
generally, of any species of property, are all 
anxious to sell, and are daily falling in their pri- 
ces, that there is trouble in their business some- 
where ; and a wise man, in all such cases, espe- 
cially if he is himself unacquainted with the 
business, will keep clear of it until the waters 
become settled. 

" And this is the case in regard to the matter 
in hand precisely. The owners of trees, in the 
fall of 1839, in their uncontrolled and undisguised 
eagerness to sell, practically declared, that they 
had no confidence in their value for any purpose, 
and of course others would have none. Then to 
put in and destroy them as they did, was only to 
confirm the opinion, on the part of all uninter- 
ested spectators, that mulberry trees are intrinsi- 
cally worthless. To any one 2iot understanding 
the causes that had been at work to bring out 
these results, such an inference would be the only 
obvious and natural one suggested. 

" But I think I have presented the case in itfs 
true Itght. Unless I entirely misjudge, you will 
see, and every body else willl see, that the Multi- 
caulis Speculation as it was called by way of dis- 
tinction, and as it will always be called, in its 
origin, progress, and disastrous termination, had 
the least possible connection, with the Silk Busi. 
ness, and shows nothing, in any way, in regard 
to the merits, or demerits of that business. The 
connection between the two things was about 
the same as between the Eastern land speculation, 
and shaving shingles. Stripped naked, this specu- 
lation was a mere trade in trees, and the only thing 
which it conclusively demonstrates is, that popu- 
lar phrenzy furnishes but an unsafe guide in 
matters of business, the same as in religion, poli- 
tics, and every tiling else. 



History and Culture of Silk. 



Remarks. — (1) This revulsion in the tree business 
prostrated the most of our Silk Companies, and 
Silk Factories then in existence. They were 
generally projected on a large scale, and involved 
large expectations, altogether too large for ex- 
perimental operations, and were generally con- 
ducted without much regard to economy. They 
had not gone far enough to derive much profits 
from growing, or manufacturing Silk. Their 
main dependence was upon the sale of trees, and 
when this source of income was thus sudderJy 
cut off, they were of course prostrated. 

(2) It is a remarkable fact, that out of the 
thousands, who, without any previous study, or 
practical knowledge, of the Silk business, pur- 
chased trees under the excitements of the specu- 
lation, very few, if any, are known to have per- 
severed, and to be now engaged in growing Silk. 
My own personal acquaintance with Silk grov/- 
crs is somewhat extensive, and I do not know a 
case of the kind. I do not assert that there is 
none, but this I do say unhesitatingly, that the 
men now engaged in this great business — great I 
mean, in its beneficent, wide spreading, and far 
reaching results, are made up, as a body, of those 
who engaged in it prior to September, 1838, and 
those who have gone into it since Jan., 1840. 
As to the rest, the thousands, the great nume- 
rical majority that came in between those dates, 
flushed with zeal, and faith, and patriotism, and 
all that sort of thing, what lias become of them ? 
Gone, gone off in smoke, all melted away, only 
leaving a terrible grease spot behind. 

(3) The Silk business in this country now 
stands upon a broader, and a firmer basis than 
ever. In confirmation of this statement I would 
refer to the following points. 

(a) It has outlived the disastrous revulsion here 
sketched. This siuely bespeaks something for its 
essential merits. By actual results in making silk 
brought out in different parts of the country, the 
entire feasibility of the silk enterprise has been 
demonstrated to the satisfaction of intelligent 
men, who have paid due attention to the subject. 
Those who engaged in it prior to the speculation, 
and of course without any expectation of large 
profits in trees, and those who have gone into it 
since the speculatien exploded, have generally 
gone steadily forward, with a confidence increas- 
ing with the increase of practical knowledge. 

(h) We have fully established the high charac- 
ter of several varieties of the foreign mulberry 
tree. Their relative claims is indeed a question 
not so definitely settled. But that the Multicau- 
lis. Cantons, Asiatics, and Alpines afford more 
foliage, in far less time, and with far less labor, 
than the white Italian ; and are, when rightly 
managed, every way safe from the perils of v»'in- 
ter, no intelligent man, acquainted with the busi- 
nesss, even affects to doubt. So also it has been 
demonstrated, that under our brilliant skies, and 
bracing winds, and upon our fruitful hills, and 
exhaustless prairies, these trees grow with unsur- 
passed luxuriance. 

(c) Our Silk,7« the state in which the worm leatcs 
it, is found to be a decidedly superior article.* 



On this point we have the concurrent testimony 
of American and European manufacturers, some 
of which you may see embodied in the First Re- 
port of the New-England Silk Convention. I 
refer to this fact in this connection as establising 
another fact, viz. the peculiar adaptcdness of our 
cUmate and soils for thQ Silk Culture, in as much 
as these are the permanent causes that control 
I the quality of all the productions of the earth. In 
open culture, as every body knows, you cannot 
get a first rate product, whether of grain, grass, 
fruit, or vegetable, only where the climate and 
soil are congenial. The fact therefore, that Amer- 
lean raw Silk, when properly reeled, is a deci- 
dedly superior article and commands a higher 
price in the market than any we can get from 
Europe, is full demonstration of the position in 
support of which it is adduced : and, with uner- 
ring precision, points to the day when unborn 
millions, in this land, will be clothed and fed, and 
educated from this delightful form of rural in- 
dustry. 

{d) It is evident, also, that in the few 
years we have been engaged in the business, we 
have supplanted the European system of feedmg, 
as first presented to the American community. 
Enclosed buildings, with furnaces, and ventilators, 
and thermometers, may, or may not, be needful 
there ; but in our climate, variable as it is repre- 
sented to be, the fact is well established, that 
in the way of building, all we need is the open 
shed, or tent, securing ample shade and heaven's 
pure air essentially unobstructed. 

(e) All our agricultural papers are now friendly 
to the Silk culture, and most of them zealously 
engaged in promoting it. The political press, also, 
in many cases, is exerting a good influence, and 
in none, a prejudicial influence. The laugh, the 
jibe, the sneer, are all done with. Every joke has 
been cracked, and not a word from any paper in 
the land have I seen for two years, otherwise than 
friendly in its design and tendency. 

(/) The new Tariff, although needing modifica- 
tions, was designed to place this business, so far 
as legislative protection is concerned, upon a 
level with other great national interests, and 
therefore operates to give it a passport to the con- 
fidence of business men.* 



* In President Styles Journal, before quoted from, I find 
this entry. 

1763, July 7. — Dr. Franklin, of Philadelphia, told me to- 
day, that the Iialiaji raw silk sils for 20s. sterling per poiuid, 



in London, and the Georgia silk for 25s. sterling per pound. 
— 1 suppose 12 oz. Troy ; and that a mulberry tree in Italy 
is estimated worth 20s. sterling, a year. (An Italian White, 
in a bearing state, is the tree here referred to. 1. R. B.) 

* Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That from and af- 
ter the day and year aforesaid, there shall be levied, collected 
and paid, an t!ie' importation of the articles hereinafter men- 
tioned, the following duties, that is to say : 

first. On all manufactures of silk not otherwise speci- 
fied, except bolting cloths, two dollars and fifty cents per 
pound of 16 ounces; on silk bolting cloths, twenty per cen- 
tum ad valorem: Provided, That if any silk manufactures 
shall be mixed with gold or silver, or other metal, it shall 
pay a duty of thirty per centum ad valorem. 

Second. Oa sewing silk, silk twist, or twist composed 
of silk and mohair, a duty of two dollars per pound of 16 
ounces; on Pongees, or plain white silks for printing 
or coloring, one dollar and fifty cents per pound of 16 oun- 
ces; on floss and other similar silks, purified from the gum, 
dyed and prepared for manufacture, a duty of twenty-five 
per centum ad valorem; on raw silk, comprehending all silks 
in the gum, whether in hanks, reeled or otherwise, a duty of 
fifty cents per pound of 16 ounces; on silk umbrellas, para- 
sols, and sun shades, thirty per centum ad valorem; on silk 
or satin shoes and slippers for women or men, thirty cents 
per pair; silk or satin laced boots or bootees for women or 



History and Culture of SilJc. 



(g) Our manufacturers, in some cases, are now 
shaping their business in reference to taking up 
Silk. Silk factories are springing up here and 
there over the country, and will be multiplied as 
the times shall seem to justify. All this tends to 
give the whole business the aspect of a regular 
settled business, and by ^creating local markets 
for cocoons, and raw silk will rapidly extend the 
growing of silk. 

(//) The amount of Silk made in years past has 
been constantly increasing, each year just about 
doubling upon the preceding year. In the States 
where legislative bounties are given we have the 
means of showing this increase, with great pre- 
cision. In Ohio, the amount of bounty paid in 
1839, was $71 10 ; iu 1841 it was $2,631 76. 
In Pennsylvania the amount paid in 1840, was 
^2,101 39 ; in 1841 it was $4,413 35. In New 
York in 1840, 2,100 lbs. of cocoons were raised ; 
in 1841, tlie amount had arisen to 6,426 lbs. 

I called upon our State Treasurer, in Boston, 
last October, and lie kindly gave me the following 
statement, showing how this matter stands in 
Massachusetts : 
In 1836, the first year of the law, he paid . .$71.37 

1837 198.00 

1838 :. 350.52 

1839 434.62 

1840 1233.59 

1841 2111.42 

1842 to Oct. 1 3351.91 

(J) All further destruction of trees has been 
arrested, and the past season we have had some 
small sales of trees at small prices, indicating a 
favorable change as comiNg over the minds of 
men on the subject. 

(j) Our agriculturists now feel, and acknowl- 
edge their need of a new staple. Cotton, Tobacco, 
Wheat, and all our other staples are at present 
depressed, and no signs of essential improvement. 
The markets of the world are glutted. In this 
crisis. Silk is beginning to arrest attention, and 
the hopes of many are fi.-?ed upon it, as furnish- 
ing a staple of unhmited extent, and one with 
■which the market cannot be glutted for 50 vears. 
These remarks present to thinking minds the 
Silk business as full of hope and encouragement 
to those interested, and to our country. In spite 
of all the multiplied discouragements which have 
beset its progress, it has made its way along — 
has worked out for itself a name, and that name 
commands the respect and the confidence of our 
intelligent business men in other and different 
employments. The great question is indeed I 
think settled, that our country is to be a Silk 
growing, and a Silk manufacturing country ; and 
if we do not, in due time, take tlie control of the 
markets of the world for Silk goods, it will not 
be in keeping with American skill, and American 
enterprise; nor coming up to the limits of our 
ability. 



men, seventy-five cents a pair; silk or satin shoes and slip- 
pers for children, fifteen cents per pair; silk or satin lactd 
boots or boot-ies for children, twenty-five cents a pair; on 
men's silk hats, one dollar each; silk or satin hats or bon- 
nets for women, two dollars each; on silk shirts and draw- 
ers, whether made up wholly or in part, forty per centum ad 
valorem; silk Caps for women, and turbans, ornaments for 
head-diess, aprons, collars, caps, cuffs, braids, curls, or fri- 
zettea, chemisetts, mantillas, pelerines, and all other articles 
of silk made up by hand, in whole or in part, and not other- 
wise provided for, a duty of thirty per centum ad valorejn. 



(4) We must now go to work, and re-supply 
the mulberry trees that have been wantonly and 
inconsiderately destroyed, as shown in this 
letter. And there is not only this amount 
to be grown, but many millions more. The state 
of tilings is now vastly different from what it 
was in the fall of 1839. At that time nineteen- 
twentieths of all the trees in the country had got 
into the hands of mere speculators, men that knew 
nothing, and cared nothing about the Silk busi- 
ness, only as affecting the price of trees then in 
their hands. But at this time, all the trees saved 
from the general destruction are in the hands of 
Silk growers, and about equally diffused over the 
country and in actual and profitable use, and 
can be multiplied at reasonable prices. We 
have preserved, cultivated, and to some extent 
multiplied them, knowing their value, and know- 
ing too, that their value would, in due time, be 
appreciated for the purposes for which they were 
designed. Popular frenzy, we know, on any 
subject, will in time consume itself, in its own 
fires. Mere prejudice cannot reign for ever. And 
I rejoice in the manifest indications of a return, 
ing public confidence already visible. The 
change, in this respect is truly encouraging, as 
those of us well know, who have the means of 
knowing any thing respecting the matter. If 
nothing occurs to turn back the tide of public 
feeling now setting in our favor, in a short time 
all the trees in the country will be in demand at 
fair business prices, the same as any other 
property, and many inillions not yet grown. Be- 
yond all doubt, therefore, it is for our interest, 
and the regular progressive advancement of the 
Silk business, that we should take all appropriate 
care of our trees, and multiply them as much as 
be convenient. I would earnestly press this 
matter upon the attention of my Silk friends. Mul- 
tiply your trees. Use every care, consult every 
expedient, tax the best energies of your minds 
to curtail expenses, and simplify and improve all 
the various processes of making Silk — feeding, 
cleaning, ventilating, and reeling ; and at the 
same time multiply your trees. 

(5) The nature of the business forbids as ra- 
pid an increase, in the amount of our silk crop, 
from year to year, as in most other agricultural 
crops. Your silk crop must be limited by the 
amount of your foliage, and this by the number 
and age of your trees, and the fertiUty of the soil 
on which they stand. The silk culture, therefore, 
resembles the fruit culture more than any other 
agricultural pursuit. In both it takes a proper 
time to bring out the results aimed at. With the 
Wiiite Italian Mulberry, which is propagated 
from the seed, we cannot get foliage to much 
amount short of three or four years. With the 
foreign varieties, Multicaulis, Cantons and Asia- 
tics, we can usually do something the first season. 
In the summer of 1838, Mr. J Danforth, of East 
Hartford, Conn., put out one-eighth of an acre 
with Multicaulis, as an experiment ; and made 
nine pounds prime silk which he exhibit at the 
Fair of the American Institute, and took a libe- 
ral premium. This was at the rate of seventy, 
two pounds to the acre. The Rev. Mr. McLean, 
of Freehold, N. J., stocked one-quarter of an acre 
the next season, for the same purpose; and brought 
out a little less than fifty pounds to the acre. But 



History and Culture of Silk. 



33 



I do not present these as results to be ordinarily ; 
expected. The land in both cases, was rich, and 
more trees were put out than is by any means best 
for permanent profit. The early part of the sea- 
son was peculiarly favorable for the growth of the ' 
trees, and the latter part for feeding — two things , 
on which the whole matter very much turned. ' 
We cannot ordinarily expect such a season 
throughout. We have had none since equal to it. i 
As a general rule, therefore, we cannot place 
much reliance upon feeding from trees the first 
year of planting them. Yet we can generally do 
something. If the season is early, and the weath- 
er warm and dry, with occasional showers, from 
the middle of July through August, we can do a I 
good business. I 

(6) Moneyed men have now every reasonable ' 
inducement to invest their funds in this new 
form of home industry — growing and manufac- 
turing Silk. For nearly four years the financial 
state of the country has been such as to paralyze 
all enterprise, and forbid all onward movements, 
especially in new and untried forms of labor. In 
this time, however, in regard to the Silk business, 
elementai-y questions have been extensively tried, 
and satisfactorily settled, though generally in a 
small way, because the means of those concerned 
in these operations are small. And we have yet 
much to learn. At the same time a vast amount of 
practical knowledge has already been gained, and 
gained teo,in many cases,as may well be supposed, 
at a dear rate. All this knowledge is now available 
for larger, and more productive operations. The 
way is indeed prepared for onward movements on 
any scale that suits the pecuniary means of 
those concerned — large or small, in growing, or 
in manufacturing. But it is our enterprising bu- 
siness men who must move in this matter. To 
them we look. Money is now abundant in our 
cities, and gradually getting into circulation In the 
country, and general business is slowly recovering 
from the extreme depression under which it has 
been so long laboring. With all confidence, 
therefore, we invite the candid and earnest atten- 
tion of these men to this great subject. True, 
the business has had many and great difficulties 
to contend against. I am not ignorant of the 
fact, that many large manufacturing establish- 
ments have been utterly prostrated, nor of the 
causes that led to these disastrous results, as be- 
fore stated. On the other hand, it is with great 
pleasure, that I can refer to the Rapps and Gills, 
and Storrs, and Atwcods, and Conants, and 
Swifts, and Dales, and Murrays, and many 
others, who have successfully surmounted 
whatever difficulties have beset their path, 
and are now reaping the rich reward of a 
well directed, a cautious, and a persevering in- 
dustry. Nor am I ignorant, that some large 
feeding establishments have failed to secure satis- 
factory results, and that some have been given 
up. But it is equally certain that transient rather 
than permanent causes have operated to defeat 
expectations in such cases, so far as these ex- 
pectations were any where within the limits of 
reason, as many were not. In some cases the 
eggs hatched were from a diseased stock. In 
more, disappointment resulted from an insuffi- 
cient, an irregular supply of food. Still more, 
froia inadequate ventilation. To this latter 



cause beyond doubt, a very large proportion of 
the disasters referred to, especially in large estab- 
lishments, are to be traced. At any rate from 
facts recently published by J. W. Gill, Esq. 
Mount Pleasant, Jefferson Co., Ohio, Dr. Steb- 
bins of Northampton, and myself, and some 
others, it is quite evident that Silk Worms may 
be fed with entire safety, in opensheds and tents, 
with a great reduction of expenses, and a great 
increase in the value of thecrop, as compared 
with any of the old modes of feeding in enclosed 
buildings. 

It is proper, however, here to say, that our feed- 
ing, whether open or close, shoufd be as early in 
the season as it is possible to secure foliage. I 
would say further, that in open feeding, the silk 
culture may be ext<?nded indefinitely, and as ra- 
pidly as trees can be multiplied. The culturist 
may have his tents, or feeding sheds, few or many, 
located in different fields on his lands, wherever 
the soil is most friendly to the growth of the trees. 
With full confidence, therefore, we ask our 
business men to examine the merits of the Silk 
question. We want their aid aad co6peration. 
Our means are limited. Those especially en- 
gaged in growing, are generally doing It in a small 
way, because we cannot do as we would. As a 
class, if we have a fair measure of any thing, it 
is faith and perseverance, amid general incredu- 
lity, and opposition and ridicule, and almost 
every thing else that can turn mortal man from 
his purpose. But we have held on, — have seen 
the worst of the case, and now rejoice in the 
manifold indications of a growing public favor ; 
and in the weil assured expectation of a remune- 
rating business, for ourselves, our childroi, and 
our country. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Amounl of Silk to an Jlcrt — Cott of Production — A'w- 
merous .Authorities- 

Questions of great importance come up here, 
respecting the amount of silk which may be pro- 
duced upon an acre of ground, and the cost of pro- 
duction at the rates of labor existing among us.t 
On these subjects conjectures abound ; and calcu- 
lations respecting the amount to be obtained so 
enormous and extravagant, that they are much 
better suited to form a chapter in the Arabian 
Nights' entertainment, than to enter into the 
thoughts of any sound mind. Conjectures, how- 
ever, in matters of this kind, are not what we 
want ; and it does not belong to me to present 
them to the farmers of Massachusetts. I have to 
lament, however, that few exact experiments in 
this case have been made in the country ; and 
that many points, the decision of which, in my 
opinion, is more hkely to have a favorable than 
an unfavorable influence upon the silk culture, 
remain to be determined. In my intercourse with 
the agricultural community, the mortifying con- 
viction is continually forced upon me, of the very 
small number of persons, upon whose authority 
any strong reliance can be placed for that exact- 
ness of observation, which constitutes the first el- 
ement of all true science, and all useful and prac- 



t Colmao's Report on ike Agricoltare of MaM&chBMUa. 



34 



History and Culture of Silk. 



tical information. It is said that in the map of 
the world in use amonff the Chinese, and to which 
they go to study geography, the empire of China oc- 
cupies about two thirds of the whole surface. Too 
many of our farmers in their sketches of their own 
domains, and their own operations, are too prone 
to measure things by this Chinese scale. I shall 
have the pleasure, however, of referring to some 
authorities entitled to entire respect and confi- 
dence, to the extent to which they go. 

1. Timothy Smith, of Amherst, who has had 
considerable experience in the proJuction of 
silk, says in a letter to me, " I consider that one 
acre of white mulberry, set in hedge rows, will 
yield foliage for fifty pounds of si/k ; and presume 
to say that an acre of Multicauhs (Perottet) will 
yield double the quantity to an acre of white. I 
consider that reeled silk costs me about two dol- 
lars per pound, not over; although it was a year 
of experiments ; but feel confident that in two or 
three years, by using' the best kinds of mulberry 
and the better economy, that silk can be made for 
one and a half dollar per pound." 

In a subsequent letter, Mr. Smith remarks, " I 
coneider the Multicauhs the most tender variety 
of any that I have cultivated. I consider the Can- 
ton as my best mulberry tree for raising silk, ta- 
king into consideration the hardihood of the tree, 
and the quantity of foliage it yields. I like the 
Italian white; and think it best to cultivate some 
of each variety." 

I understand Mr. Smith here to estimate, in 
the cost of the silk, the value of the labor only ; 
and to charge nothing for the use of the land and 
cost and care of the trees ; nor any rent for his co- 
coonery. These items would add something to 
the cost of the silk, but it is not easy to calculate 
them, from the imperfect elements which are giv- 
en. It will be seen in this case, that although 
Mr. Smith has had some experience in the produc- 
tion of silk, yet that his statements are somewhat 
conjectural. In his supposition, likewise, that he 
could obtain one hundred pounds of silk from an 
acre, planted with the Perottet mulberry, and that 
he hoped to reduce the cost of the production 
of reeled silk to one dollar and a half per lb., a lit- 
tle allowance is perhaps to be made for the quick- 
ness of pulse, which in that time of excitement 
was felt by every cultivator of mulberry trees in 
his visions of the profits of the Multicaulis. 

2. The next approach to the actual cost of the 
production, is presented bj^ James Deane, M. D. 
of Greenfield, Mass. His admirable letter to me 
on the subject, I shall give in the appendix. He 
estimates the cost of reeled silk at from two to two 
dollars and a quarter per pound. He produced the 
last year several pounds of silk of as fine a descrip- 
tion as could be made. When he undertook the 
culture of silk, he had never seen a silk-worm nor 
a silk reel. He constructed a reel, admirable for 
its simplicity and efficiency, of which I shall give 
an engraving; and his operations from the begin, 
ning to the end were crowned with perfect suc- 
cess. This demonstrates the great simplicity and 
feasibleness of the operation. Dr. Deane is so 
remarkable for his carefulness, that his statements, 
where statements are given, may be implicitly re- 
lied on. The cost of producing the silk, howev- 
er, is with him rather a matter of estimate or 
judgment, than of a careful observation of every 



minute charge ; and, like Mr. Smith's, embraces 
oaly the labor applied. 

3. The next authority to which I refer, is, that 
of D, V. McLean, of Freehold, Monmouth Coun- 
ty, New-Jersey. No experiment has been given 
to the country so numerous in its details and in- 
structive in its results, as this. From the time 
employed and the wages paid for the production 
of twelve pounds of silk, he comes to the conclu- 
sion, that raw silk may be produced and reeled at 
the rate of two dollars to two dollars and one quar- 
ter per pound, though he admits, that "his cost him 
much more than this." This, likewise, is to be 
understood as the cost of the labor only applied to 
the production of the silk from the eggs ; and with 
out any allowance for land, trees, or cost or rent 
of cocoonery. 

4. In Mansfield, Connecticut, it is customary 
with those who have trees, to furnish the eggs, to 
board the woman employed in the process, and to 
allow her half the produce in silk. She performs 
all the work, from the hatching of the worms to 
the reeling of the silk. The board of a woman in 
this case is estimated at one and a half dollars per 
week. I have no means of ascertaining how ma- 
ny worms a woman would be able to manage. — 
The general estimate is, that one woman will feed 
60,000 worms. It has been stated to me, that in 
one instance, one woman took the care of 120,000 
worms ; but I am unable to obtain the particulars 
of the case ; and to learn whether she had any 
aid in picking the leaves or not. In the com- 
mencement of the feeding, the time of one woman 
would not be occupied entirely by an amount of 
worms, which at the close of the feeding season 
would require her whole and exclusive attention. 
Various circumstances, likewise, must come into 
the account ; such, for example, as the facilities 
for feeding the worms ; whether the leaves are to 
be gathered from high standard trees or from 
shrubs ; and whether they are to be plucked from 
the white mulberry or the improved varieties. In 
the improved cocooneries small cars fixed upon a 
railroad are used to convey the leaves from one 
end of the room to the other ; and at a great sa- 
ving of labor and time. The use of hurdles like- 
wise, so as to facilitate the cleaning of the worms, 
will serve to lessen the labor. Practice and ex- 
perience, as in all other cases, may be expected to 
bring with them their usual advantages. Under 
these circumstances, it is not easy to determine 
how large a family of these industrious and hun- 
gry operatives may be placed under the steward- 
ship of one person. In Mr. Smith's operations, 
two women were occupied about five weeks in 
feeding the worms for the production of about 
twenty pounds of silk ; but how long was required 
for the reeling is not stated. They received three 
dollars each per week, and board, which must be 
rated at one dollar and a half each per week. In 
Mr. McLean's experience, the labor of two wo- 
men and a man twelve weeks each, would be re- 
quired to attend upon one acre or 160,000 worms ; 
and he estimates their expenses, including board, 
at three dollars per week each. These wages 
might be deemed ample for a woman's labor, but 
it is not more than half of the cost of a man's la- 
bor in Massachusetts. Mr. McLean's cocoonery, 
which I had the pleasure of visiting, combines 
many advantages of construction; and his foliage 



History and Culture of Silk. 



3§ 



was gathered from the Perottet mulberry, planted 
the same spring, and growing luxuriantly direct- 
ly in the vicinity. His experiment, however, 
though conducted in a manner creditable to his 
remarkable intelligence and public spirit cannot 
be said to determine in a satisfactory manner the 
cost of production; though I think it fully decides 
the question at tJie present prices of raw silk and 
of sewings, in favor of the profitableness of the 
culture, within reasonable limits; and at a fair 
value of land, labor, and trees. Any very great 
increase of production must of course be followed 
by a reduction of price. 

5. Calculations made by John Fitch, of Mans- 
field, Connecticut, are as follows. I have not the 
pleasure of a personal knowledge of Mr. Fitch ; but 
his reputation is a guarantee for the correctness 
of his statement. It is, as will appear, somewhat 
matter of judgment, but, I presume, founded upon 
experience. 

One acre of full grown trees, set one and a half 
rod apart, will produce forty pounds of silk. 

The labor may be estimated as follows : 

For the three first weeks after the worms are 
hatched, one woman who is acquainted with the 
business ; or children, who would be equal to such 
a person. 

For the next twelve or fourteen days, five hands, 
or what would be equal to five, if performed by 
children. In this period, two men with other help 
would be employed to better advantage, than all 
women and children. This period finishes the 
worms. 

For picking off the balls, and reeling the silk, 
it will require about the same amount of labor, for 
the same length of time, as the last mentioned pe- 
riod, which may all be perforzned by women and 
children. The aforesaid labor and board may be 
estimated at eighty dollars; spinning the silk at 
thirty-four dollars ; forty pounds of silk at the 
lowest cash price, is now worth two hundred dol- 
lars, which makes the following result : 

40 lbs. of Silk at $5 per lb $200 

Labor and Board $80 

Spinning 34 — 114 

Net profit per acre $86 

The principal part of the labor may be perform- 
ed by women and children ; but where the busi- 
ness is carried on to a considerable extent, it is 
considered more profitable to employ some men 
for the last period of the worms. 

This account of Mr. Fitch, it wiU be seen, makes 
no allowance for any capital invested in trees, land, 
or buildings ; or for any expenses which the care 
of the trees, land and buildings may require ; 
and it refers only to the use of the white mulberry 
as standard trees. 

6. The calculation of an intelligent silk-grower 
at Manchester, Connecticut, and who is a culti- 
vator of the Perottet mulberry, is as follows. He 
estimates the value of the trees at twenty-five 
cents each, and he requires three thousand to 
stock an acre. 

COST. 

Of trees for an acre $750 00 

Valueofland 100 00 



Capital invested $850 00 



Interest on $850 51 00 

Labor in picking leaves 25 00 

Labor feeding worms, & reel'g silk 50 00 

Extra manure for land 20 00 



Total $146 00 

RETURN. 

50 lbs. of Silk at $5 per lb 250 00 

Deduct charges 146 00 

Total $104 00 

The labor here is undoubtedly underrated. The 
number of trees upon an acre, 3,000 is also under- 
rated, unless upon the presumption that these trees 
are counted before they are laid down ; if laid 
down in a furrow they would be multiplied many 
times. In Mr. McLean's case, there were 5,500 
trees upon a quarter of an acre, or, 22,000 upon an 
acre. The price of silk, is in a considerable de- 
gree, capricious. The quantity produced upon an 
acre is matter of fair calculation. I do not rely 
with much confidence upon this statement ; but I 
give this example for the sake of showing how dif- 
ficult it is, even with observing men, to arrive at 
any certain result. 

7. T. W. Shepard, of Northampton, fed worms 
to an amount not known, but supposed from 75,- 

000 to 100,000. Commenced feeding about the 
middle of August ; and the worms wound in about 
five weeks. The worms were of the two crop 
kind. About 2,1501bs.of leaves were picked from 
small Alpine and white mulberry trees ; all the 
leaves were stripped off with many of the small 
branches ; and owing to the lateness of the season, 
many leaves were very rusty. All the labpr of 
picking leaves, tending the worms, and preparing 
bushes for winding, was performed by one man 
in five weeks, except paying a boy three dollars 
for picking leaves ; and the first two weeks the 
man was not engaged more than half the time. 
The cocoons measured twelve bushels ; one bushel 
was saved for seed ; and the remainder reeled by 
a young girl, totally ignorant of the business, hav- 
ing never reeled an ounce before. The amount 
of silk reeled was eight pounds. Under the most 
favorable aspect, the cost in this case, cannot be 
considered less than three dollars per lb. for labor 
only. 

Joseph Conant, of Mansfield, Connecticut, 
trained to the culture of silk from his childhood, 
and upon whose intelligent and calm judgment, 

1 should place much reliance, says that an acre of 
land may be expected to produce from thirty to fifty 
pounds of silk. D. V. McLean obtained at the 
rate of 48 lbs. ; or, allowing for waste and acci- 
dent, at the rate of 50 lbs. to the acre. He adds, 
that he should utterly despair of obtaining 104 or 
128 lbs. to an acre. Mf. McLean's product, un- 
der the circumstances of the case, may be regard- 
ed as a medium product ; but how much more 
may be obtained it would be idle to state, until 
some exact experiments have determined this im- 
portant point. Fifty pounds of silk to an acre 
then affords the only safe basis on which at pre- 
sent we may make our calculations as to the profit 
of the business. 

There are some other points connected with the 
culture of silk, to which it seems proper to refer. 
In all cases of this nature, well established facts 
are what we mainly seek after. When I speak of 
well established facts it will be understood that I 



36 



History and Culture of Silk. 



do not estimate testimony merely by the number 
of witnesses ; for with respect to agricultural mat- 
ters, as in other matters, a large portion of mankind 
in what they state only echo the sentiments of oth- 
ers, and they perhaps persons not very competent 
to teach ; and ai'e like parrots, who can utter only 
what they have heard others say. 

It is often stated that one hundred pounds of 
leaves will feed worms which will make 1 lb. of 
silk. Aaron Clapp of Hartford, states, that 80 lbs. 
of the Perottet mulberry leaves will do it, and this 
is asserted by many others. I do not learn from 
Mr. Clapp's conversation or his book, that this 
result has been reached by actual trial. The pro- 
blem, however, has, perliaps, been more nearly 
solved by some others, and to their authority we 
shall defer. 

Ralph Storrs, of Mansfield, Connecticut, states 
that it requires 200 lbs. of the white mulberry 
leaves for one pound of silk. Joseph Conant of 
the same place, says, from 100 to 120 lbs. of leaves 
will make one pound of silk. I cannot reconcile 
the difference in the testimony of these two gentle, 
naen, both of whom are experienced in the silk 
culture, but by supposing that they have never 
made an exact measurement in the case ; or that 
the former in the weight of the leaves included 
the weight of small branches or twigs, which were 
collected with the leaves. 

I have, however, two testimonies, which rest 
upon exact measurement. Mr. McLean says, that 
the whole number of worms fed upon his quarter 
of an acre was 40,000. The weight of leaves con- 
Bumed, 2,576 lbs. Amount of cocoonB produced, 
130 lbs., weighed just as taken from the shelves, 
without sorting or flossing. After they were sorted 
and flossed there was 1 lb. of floss and 4 lbs. de- 
fective cocoons, leaving 126 lbs of cocoons. — 
These produced 12 lbs. of merchantable reeled 
silk, 16 oz. to the lb., and 1 lb. wastage, ends, &c. 

From the above statement it will be seen, that 
it required between 19 and 20 lbs. of leaves to 
make 1 lb. of cocoons. Of these cocoons, with- 
out flossing or sorting, it required 10 lbs. and 10 
oz. to make 1 lb. of reeled silk. After they were 
flossed and sorted, it reqnred 10 lbs. and 5 oz., or 
about 214 to 215 lbs. of leaves, to make 1 lb. of 
reeled silk. These were the leaves of the Perottet 
mulbcn-y. After making various allowances for 
waste leaves, Mr. McLean thinks it may require 
190 lbs. of leaves to make 1 lb. of silk. The first 
statement is the result of an actual trial ; the lat- 
ter is matter of opinion. 

Mr. Shepard, of Northampton, in an experi- 
mcnt made by himself, the last summer, found 
that it required 240 lbs. leaves and twigs of the 
Alpine and white mulberry to 1 lb. of silk. He 
adds, tliat had all the leaves been free from stem 
and rust, probably 200 lbs. would have been an 
ample supply for a pound of silk. These are the 
statements of a gentleman of perfect credibility, 
and the result of exact experiment. They are to 
be disproved only by more full, more exact, and 
repeated trials. 

To his account Mr. McLean adds : "last year 
I produced at the rate of 510 lbs. of cocoons to the 
acre ; this year I produced at the rate of 520 lbs. ; 
and my deliberate opinion is, that more will fall 
below this standard than will exceed it ; and in 
one case where the less quantitj qf leaves will give 



the above quantity of silk, two cases will occurthat 
will require a greater," The exactness, caution, 
and frankness of this gentleman are worthy of all 
praise. 



CHAPTER VII, 

Natural and Artificial Systems of Managing Silk Jforms 
— Chinese System — General Remarks. 

In the Silk Culture, there are two systems of 
managing worms — the natural and the artificial. 
The former contemplates a full exposure of 
the worms to a natural state of the atmosphere 
from the first, without any attempt to regu- 
late the temperatm-e. In the large feeding es- 
tablishments of Europe, the latter system pre- 
vails. In China, the former is believed to be 
universal. Which system is best for us ? To 
reach a proper and full answer to this vital ques- 
tion, I would remark :* 

(1) The climate of China, in the same paral- 
lels of latitude, is essentially the same as our 
own. This is the testimony of travelers — our 
missionaries, and others. Dr. Peter Parker, one 
of the devoted missionaries of the American 
Board, and the native countryman who recently 
visited the United States, and who arc referred to 
by Dr. Stebbins in the interesting communication 
that follows this, asserted the fact here named. 
And why should it not be so ? We are situated 
in reference to all those causes that control cli- 
mate just as China is. We have a vast sea- 
surface on the East, and so has China. We 
have a vast inland interior, on the I^'»rth, North 
West, West, and South West, and so has China : 
and our prevailing winds are land winds, and so 
are the winds of China during the feeding seasons. 
Last February I wrote a letter to R. B. Forbes, 
Esq., of Boston, a gentleman of the highest re- 
spectability, and who has spent several years in 
the Chinese trade, proposing a series of questions 
connected with the Silk Culture of that country. 
Among the questions was this in regard to cli- 
mate. In his reply he states, that in the neigh- 
borhood of Canton, sea- winds (the monsoons) pre- 
vail from October to May, and from May to 
October, land winds prevail ; and that throughout 
the rest of China land winds prevail through 
the year. Of course, these winds coming over 
an unmeasured range of land surface as ours do, 
must be dry winds, like ours, making a dry cli- 
mate in distinction from a humid one, like that 
of England ; and making our climate and theirs 
essentially the same, in the same degrees of lati- 
tude. As then the Chinese have been engaged 
in the Silk Culture for some thousands of years, 
constituting, as it now does one of the great ag- 
ricultural interests of the country, if not the cliief 
one, the presumption is, that they have ascer- 
tained the best way of conducting it, especially 
on so simple, and at the same time, so vital 
a point as ventilation. But, 

(2) Is it certain, that the Chinese practice the 
natural system ? 

Shut out from the rest of the worid as China 

has hitherto been, it has bees extremely difficult 

to get exact informat ion, in regard to any of he r 

^ I. R.BMbeux. ~~~ "" ' 



History and Culture of Silk. 



37 



industrial operations. Tlicy have been, as Mr. 
Forbes informs me, in the habit, and from sys- 
tem, of giving contradictory statements respect- 
ing all their domestic affairs, designedl}' to blind 
the eyes of foreigners. But on this point I tliink 
we may be sure, that we have reached the trutli. 
Dr. Parker and his native companion before re- 
ferred to, both stated to Dr. Stebbins that they 
feed in open sheds. And what is, if possible, 
still stronger, we have the testimony of the His- 
torical Paintings descTihedhy Dr. Stebbins, at my 
request and given in another chapter. Here you see 
the open shed, witli its busy occupants. These 
paintings — a splendid specimen of the art by the 
way — were drawn by a native artist, and were 
doubtless made to sell, and of course would repre- 
sent the business ns it is. They furnish, there- 
fore, conclusive evidence of the point in support 
of which they are hero referred to. 

(3) The artificial system involves too much 
expense and care to be adopted by the great body 
of our people. A few individuals, or companies, 
may do it as the Messrs Cheneys have done, and 
bring out decided results. And for their in- 
struction, and as a matter of general interest to 
inquisitive minds we give the theory in pro- 
gressive extent, together with the plates at the 
beginning of the volume which illustrate the 
system. But all the intelligent friends of the 
Silk Culture wish to see, and expect to see it en- 
grafted upon the ordinary agriculture of the 
country ; and of course, such a system of feeding 
must be presented to the public as is suited to 
such a design — as is susceptible of universal 
adoption. And for one, I hesitate not to say, 
that another long half century will roll over our 
heads, before the Silk Culture can become fully 
established, if we undertake to push the artificial 
system forward, as being the only one ; or as in 
itself the best, — a point, by the way, in regard to 
which, I entertain very serious doubts, even if 
the question is not already definltlvcl}' settled in 
favor of the natural system as intrinsically the 
best. One thing is very certain, and that is, that 
our climate is very different from the climate of 
the silk growing regions of Europe. From the 
causes already stated it is probably a drier ch- 
mate. I fully believe it to be altogether better 
suited to the business. I so judge from the well 
known superiority of our rawsilk, well reeled, and 
the superior healthfuhiess of our worms. In Eu. 
rope the estimated loss by disease is from twenty- 
five to forty per cent. In this country, it need 
not be five per cent. In my own limited opera- 
tions for seven years, it has never exceeded 
that in any crop carried through by tlic first of 
August. We therefore do ourselves injustice, by 
adopting, without due consideration, the theories, 
and usages of Europe in this matter. To Eu- 
rope we may safely look for information on all the 
different processes connected with the manufac- 
ture of this precious commodity, but in regard to 
its culture, we must look to the results of our own 
experience, and the light that has come, and 
that shall hereafter come, from the Celestial Em- 
pire. And now that her massive doors have 
been thrust open, and her unbrotherly walls pros- 
trated, and outside barbarians are permitted to 
look in upon her industrial affairs, may we not 
anticipate large accessions to the general stock of 



our knowledge, in regard to silk, and other agri- 
cultural questions ? And in this connection, I 
cannot withhold a passing acknowledgement of 
gratitude to the American Institute of New-York, 
that they have with characteristic comprehen- 
siveness of views, despatched a special Agent, 
with our Diplomatic Mission to that country, for 
the specific purpose of collecting, and trans- 
mitting to this country all the information he 
can gain, in reference to silk, and other questions. 
From the identity of climate, in the two coun- 
tries, may we not anticipate large results to the 
agriculture of our beloved land — new modes of 
culture, new grains, grasses, fruits, flowers, and 
vegetables, and perhaps new domestic animals. 
The Hon. Mr. Gushing, the head of the mission, 
in a letter which I received from him a few days 
before he sailed, kindly assured rac, that he would 
interest himself to the extent of his opportunities, 
in collecting and forwarding information on the 
silk question. 

(4) As a general remark, in our feeding opera- 
tions in this country, especially in the larger es- 
tablishments, we have had neither the one sys- 
tem, nor the other : but a kind of mongrel sys- 
tem involving the evils of both, without the pecu- 
liar benefits of either. For example. Here is a 
cocoonery of the best class. It is lathed and 
plastered, or otherwise tight, so that you can at 
pleasure shut out the cold damp air, with appro- 
priate fixtures for raising the temperature. It is 
also well ventilated, havmg say one-third more 
windows than an ordinary dwelling house. You 
hatch, feed and clean, according to rule. If it is 
cold, and your worms are torpid, you shut up, 
and raise the temperature, your worms eat and 
do well for a time, but in the last ten days they 
sicken and die, or at least make but half a crop. 
What is the matter ? Why, in the last ages, you 
had a long cold rain, and your worms now grown 
large, required ten times as much pure air, as 
you gave them, or could give them, on the plan 
supposed. But suppose the weather was just the 
reverse of this, hot and sultry, the thermometer 
ranging from 80'^ to 90°, (at least 10° too high,) 
but you have provided no means to lower it. The 
external air is in a state of dead stagnation, not 
a breath stirring, every leaf motionless for one, 
two, or three days. You open your doors and 
windows, but this does not help the matter essen- 
tially, for there is no circulation of the external 
air, to drive through and change the air of the 
room : you have provided no fans, no jytificial 
means of any kind to stir and change the air in 
the room, not even a scuttle in the roof to allow 
the deleterious gasscs to make their own way 
out. Is this the artificial system ? It is only a 
mockery of the thing, and yet I present this, 
not as a caricature but as a fair representation 
of the prevaihng practice when artificial heat 
has been employed. 

The truth is every tyro in feedingsilkworms now 
knows, that we have altogether more to dread 
from heat than from cold, especially hot, sultry, 
confined weather. But for such weather none of 
our cocooneries have been fitted, and in feeding 
in them, or in any enclosed room, our only chance 
of getting a lot of 25 to 50,000 safely through, 
turns upon two contingencies. (1) That the 
thermometer, during their last stages, ranges 
C 



38 



History and Culture of Silk. 



from 65° to 75° and (2) that we have brisk 
daily and nightly winds at the same time, so as 
to secure a constant circulation of the air through 
the room. In this case the impure air, generated 
by the breathing, and the insensible perspiration 
of the worms, and their animal excrements is ex- 
pelled. Otherwise the most part of it remains in 
the room, to defeat all your labors and disappoint 
your hopes. 

Every body knows that silk worms, like all 
other living things, need a pure air to breathe, 
and that their excrements, even if they arc 
cleaned, as is usual, at each moulting, will vitiate 
the air of their room, more or less, according 
to the weather, and the amount of that excre- 
ment discharged. But every one does not know, 
that silk worms, like human beings and other 
animals, throw off through the pores of the skin, 
in the form of insensible perspiration, a large 
amount of the food consumed, yet this is a fact. 
In the last Report of the New-England Silk Con- 
vention. H. P. Byram, Esq, of Brandenburg, 
Kentucky, says : 

" In order to show the importance of a tho- 
rough and perfect ventilation in feeding, I have 
this summer made the following experiment, to 
determine the amount of impure matter passing 
off from worms by insensible perspiration. I 
weighed twelve worms in the morning before 
feeding, weighed their food for twenty-four hours, 
then weighed the worms, and their excrements, 
and brought out the following result. 
Weight of twelve worms, (a few days before 

winding,) 385 grs. 

Weight of leaves consumed in 24 hours . .313 " 

Total "698 " 

Weight of excrement deducted 101 " 

597 « 
" " worms at the end of 24 hours 424 " 

Showing a loss by perspiration of. 173 " 

According to the facts here estabhshed, 20,000 
worms nearly grown, throw off, by insensible per- 
spiration, over fifty pounds (Troy weight) of im- 
pure matter, every 24 hours. Crowd 50 to 100,- 
000 of these living, breathing, sweating, crawl- 
ing things into a close room with no circulation 
of the air, and who can wonder that they sicken 
and die ? 

(5) In numerous instances, myself and others 
have seen diseased worms, thrown out with the 
litter and exposed to heaven's pure air and drench- 
ing rains, restored to health, appjirently by these 
very means. 

(6) Almost every case of sweeping disease 
among worms that has come to my knowledge 
during the seven years that I have been engaged 
in the business, has been where a large lot was 
fed in an enclosed building ; and in the last ages 
of the worm. Such disease has usually appeared 
after a few days of told wet weather, the build- 
ing having been, in the time, shut up to raise the 
temperatura : but more especially after a few days 
of hot, sultry, confined weather: thus indicating, 
that the cause of the trouble is the want of air. 

On the other hand, a few hundred, or two or 
three thousand mav be safely fed in any common 
room, with ordinary care in cleaning and venti- 
lating them. 

(7) Some of the best cases of successful feeding 



that have come to my knowledge, have been 
where worms had the most air. General A. Hoi. 
man of Bolton, Massachusetts, two years ago, 
fed a lot in an unoccupied bam, on the floor, 
setting the large doors fully open, so that the air 
could drive completely through. In very high 
winds, he would close the doors on the windward 
side. The result was decidedly good. With equal 
success, Mr. C. Mason, of Southbridge, fed some 
20 to 25,000 in an old fashioned corn barn boarded 
open on all sides. 

H. P. Byram, Esq., of Brandenburg, Kentucky, 
in a letter written last winter, says that a neighbor, 
Dr. Charles Stewart, the past season, fed a lot in 
an open shed, on branches, allowed them to wind 
in the same, and made the largest and best co- 
coons that he ever made. He says, the worms 
were frequently drenched with the rain ; also, 
that the Doctor is so well satisfied that open feed- 
ing is the true theory, that he is now putting up a 
long shed, expressly for the purpose, and that 
many others there will adopt the same system. I 
might give many other similar instances. With- 
in a few months I have received a letter from the 
Rev. Mr. Landfear, of Mansfield, Connecticut, 
and one also from A. Preston, Esq., of Willing- 
ton, Ct., in answer to inquiries that I had made 
them on the subject. Both these gentlemen con- 
cur in the statement, that the prevailing practice 
in those towns has been to feed in out buildings, 
for fifty to sixty years, and yet from my own 
personal knowledge I am satisfied that their feed- 
ing rooms have generally been altogether too 
cloie. While they have dispensed with artificial 
heat, they have, at the same time, suffered in 
hot sultry weather for the want of circulation of 
the air. A still more decisive witness is J. W. 
Gill, Esq., of Mount Pleasant, Jefferson county, 
Ohio. In April last, he wrote me as follows : 

" Your views relative to thorough ventilation 
are in accordance with my own experience — 
having been engaged for the past five years in all 
the departments, both growing and manufactur- 
ing. It gives me pleasure to announce to you, 
that I shall continue to prosecute my labors as 
heretofore. — During the past year I have much 
enlarged my operations, both feeding and manu- 
facturing, and have furnished employment to 
about fifty hands on an average, the year round, 
and have manufactured upwards of $9,000 worth 
of silk goods, consisting of all the varieties of 
staple silk in demand, equal to any imported, and 
sold them readily as made, at a reasonable ad- 
vance on their cost of production and manufac- 
ture. In fact, my efforts have been crowned with 
complete success, and I am rapidly and perma- 
nently enlarging my operations in all the various 
departments. In the past five years of my feeding 
operations, I have frequently met with partial 
failures and occasionally entire loss of lots of 
worms from extremely warm, close, and confined 
weather, (but never from cold.) I have tried all the 
plans of feeding and ventilating cocooneries used, 
or known in the United States. I found they 
were very deficient in accomplishing the objects 
desired, viz : cheapness and simplicity of con- 
struction, proper ventilation, cleanliness and 
economy in feeding. These objects are essential 
to the success of the business. After testing all 
the various methods and recommendations for 



History and Cvlture of Silk. 



39 



feeding and studying the nature, habits, and 
wants of the worms thoroughly, I finally studied 
out and adopted the following plan, which meets 
all of these important objects. 

He then describes his open tent, and feeding 
cradle, which has been extensively published, and 
then adds : 

" This system throughout, is simple, cheap, and 
easy of construction, and meets all the wants of 
the worm and greatly facihtates the feeding. It 
curtails expenses about one half, and more than 
doubles the quantity and quality of cocoons 
raised from a given quantity of eggs over the 
most successful results of the most improved 
method of feeding heretofore practised." 

(8) I take it to be essential to this system of 
open feeding that it be done in the early part of the 
season ; that the eggs be hatched, and the worms 
be fed from the first in a perfectly natural state 
of the atmosphere. I have little confidence in late 
feeding any way. My own experience and ob- 
servation testify against it. And yet in frequent 
cases it does tolerably well. But the risks are 
greater, and the cocoons formed are always lighter 
and less valuable. My own wish is always to 
have the work all done up before the middle of 
August. But we are sometimes carried beyond 
that period from the want of early feed. 

(9) Open feeding is the dictate of nature. The 
silk worm, in its native state, Uves and passes 
thraugh all its wondrous changes, on the tree, in 
the open air, like the caterpillar, the canker worm, 
and other annual insects. In this state it was 
found on the high hills of China seven hundred 
years before the birth of Abraham. In this state 
it has been found in this country, at least in Maine, 
South Carolina, and on Mount Holyoke, Massa- 
chusetts, one thousand feet above the level of 
Connecticut river. Can any, or all of the con- 
trivances of art to promote health in this case do 
any good ? I doubt it. True, in cultivating this 
insect, we must betake ourselves to shelves, or 
hurdles, or horizontal levels of some kind. For 
obvious reasons it cannot be done on the tree. 
On the tree the worm will instinctively shelter 
itself from the sun, under the leaf on which it 
feeds. It there enjoys Heaven's pure air in un- 
stinted measures ; and in return, takes all the 
changes of temperature as they come. If the 
thermometer falls below 60° it will become tor- 
pid, and refuse to eat, and of course will not 
grow. But upon returning warmth it revives, 
and goes on with all its wonted and wonderful 
labors, apparently uninjured by its temporary in- 
terruption. Is it not so with the honey bee, and 
house flies, and all insects that become torpid in 
a low temperature ? 

in cultivating the silk worm, therefore, we 
must provide ample shade, and beyond this, the 
contrivances of art, are, if I reason correctly, un- 
called for, and had better be dispensed with. To 
ensure as much certainty of success in this, as 
in any earthly pursuit, all we want is eggs from 
a healthy stock, ample and ripe food, perfect 
cleanliness, full shade, with heaven's sweet at- 
mosphere essentially unobstructed. 

By what is called the Artificial process, pursued 
with extraordinary success at the experimental 
farm in France, under the direction of M. Camille 
de Beauvaia and with the patronage of the gov- 



ernment, the whole operation is much abridged in 
respect to time, and the quantity of silk produced 
from the same number of worms is considerably 
increased. The plan is to keep up an even tem- 
perature in the cocoonery as high as 75° Fahren- 
heit, and to feed the worms day and night to the 
full extent which they can be made to consume. I 
shall subjoin to this report a table most ingeniously 
drawn up, in which every step in the process is 
minutely and clearly detailed.* This, in my opin- 
ion, will be almost invaluable to the cultivator of 
sUk, as condensing in a small compass, the most 
important and useful information. 

The Messrs. Cheney, of Burlington, New Jer. 
sey, have experimented upon this artificial pro- 
cess, the last year, with success. The worms 
completed their winding in twenty.four days; 
and they have strong hopes to reduce the time 
required to twenty-two days. It is stated that, 
in proportion to the shortness of the time occu- 
pied in conducting the worm to maturity through 
the various stages, by incessant care, and the 
most liberal feeding, the quantity of silk is in- 
creased and its quality improved. 

In the German pamphlet to which I have re. 
ferred, it is stated that " by this mode of man- 
agement, M. Beauvais has obtained from every 
half ounce of eggs, sixty-eight pounds of cocoons, 
whilst, in the south of France, they commonly 
obtained wnly twenty-five pounds, and in the 
north of Germany, with proper care, from forty 
to forty-five pounds." By this method, they can 
bring four generations of silk worms to spin in 
one year, and so have four silk harvests. 

These are certainly great points to be attained. 
Such refinements in the cultivation, and so much 
pains-taking, may by some, be regarded as dis- 
couraging ; but they involve no mystery, and 
the extraordinary advantages to be obtained 
promise an ample compensation for much ex- 
pense and labor. How far they may be suited to 
what may be strictly called household arrange- 
ments, or where the silk culture is pursued al- 
together as an incidental or subsidiary branch of 
husbandry, is a matter of easy calculation, and 
which any one may determine for himself.t 

The Messrs. Cheney have favored the public 
with an account of their experience in feeding 
silk worms, after the plan of M. Camille Beauvais. 
I subjoin it as a highly interesting and valuable 
document, and showing remarkable results. The 
cocoonery of Messrs. Cheney, at Burlington, New 
Jersey, which I had the pleasure of visiting, is on 
the most approved plan. 

I subjoin a comparison of the two results from 
G. B. Smith, of Baltimore, to whose intelhgence, 
activity and ability, in relation to this important 
branch of industry, the agricultural public are 
largely indebted. 

" We followed, as near £fs circumstances would 
permit, the plan recommended by M. C. Beauvais, 
an account of which we have published, and sue 
ceeded in terminating the crop in twenty.four 
days ; and we venture to say, that firmer and 
larger cocoons have not been produced by any 
silk grower this season. The silk reels admirably, 
and is strong, lustrous, and of a superior quality. 

♦ Colmaa on the Agriculture of Massachusetts. 
t Sea plates at tbe begioQing of thia work. 



40 



History and Culture of Silk, 



June 27th, the eggs were taken from the refri- 
gerator, where they had been kept since the first 
of March, at an average temperature of 40° 
Fahrenheit. They were placed upon a shelf in 
the cellar, where the temperature was 60o. On 
the 29th, at 4 P. M., they were taken to the co- 
coonery, the temperature at that time being 78°. 



All worms found upon the clothe, upon their re- 
moval from the cellar, (being but a small num- 
ber) were destroyed before the clothes were placed 
in the cocoonery. Eighty thousand worms 
hatched on the 30th of June, which we reserved 
for the experiment. 





















<<-i a) 








Internal 




External 




.s 


O <u 
. > 

■" a 






Temperature. 


Temperature. 


6 '"B 


lbs. 


REMARKS. 


Date. 


6a.m. 

""78 


12m. 


6p.M. 


12m. 


1 6 ; 12 


6 


1 12 




June 30 


~78 


77 


78 


] 70 78 


70 


" 68 


18 


2 




July 1 


78 


78 


78 


78 


62 78 


77 


68 


18 


4 


Morning cool — used heat. 


^ 9 


76 


78 


78 


78 


70 77 


71 


69 


18 


8 


The weather clear in the moming» 
and the worms lively; in the eve- 
ning rain ; wind S. E. 


3 


76 


77 


79 


76 


66 76 


79 


67 




2 


Worms commenced moultmg. 


4 


75 


76 


75 


75 


65 76 


75 


60 


12 


16 


Worms finished moulting. 


5 


72 


72 


76 


73 


56 70 


72 


60 


12 


22 


Clear— wind N. W. 


6 


72 


75 


76 


73 


55 72 


73 


65 


12 


30 


Wind E. — brisk fires dming the day>- 


7 


73 


76 


78 


77 


60 80 


70 


68 




2 


Commenced moulting. 


8 


72 


77 


78 


75 


65' 78 


76 


70 


12 


14 


Finished moulting. 


9 


74 


76 


77 


76 


66' 78 


76 


70 


12 


30 




10 


71 


79 


82 


79 


65 80 


82 


72 


12 


80 


Clear— wind S. W. 


11 


76 


82 


80 


75 


7l! 87 


74 


68 




6 


Commenced moulting. 


12 


72 


75 


74 


73 


65 74 


72 


62 


9 


80 


Finished moultuig. 


13 


72 


75 


75 


75 


64 78 


70 


67 


9 


130 




14 


72 


75 


75 


74 


68 76 


74 


67 


9 


200 




15 


72 


76 


75 


73 


67i 78 


72 


65 


9 


134 




16 


70 


75 


70 


72 


64 79 


78 


64 




10 


Commenced moulting in the eveaing. . 


17 


74 


76 


75 


76 


69 80 


78 


67 






Quite dormant — not fed. 


18 


70 


78 


80 


77 


68 84 


85 


72 


8 


140 


Finished moulting early in the mons- 


19 


72 


82 


84 


79 


68' 88 


90 


76 


8 


260 


ing. 


20 


76 


82 


82 


78 


76 86 


82 


74 


8 


400 




21 


75 


79 


78 


78 


73 80 


76 


73 


8 


680 




22 


74 


82 


82 


79 


74' 88 


■82 


79 


8 


920 




23 


75 


79 


82 


77 


75 82 


86 


75 


8 


600 


Showed signs of winding — food di. 
minished. 


24 


72 


79 


77 


73 


70 86 


75 


73 


8 


200 


Commenced winding. 



The worms were what is generally termed the 
" six weeks sulphur," and it will be seen by the 
above statement that they terminated their labors 
in twenty-four days. The amount of cocoons 
was three hundred and fifty-six pounds, and it re- 
quired two hundred and twenty-five to weigh a 
pound. The amount of leaves fed out was three 
thousand nine hundred and seventy pounds, which 
gives eleven pounds of leaves to a pound of co- 
coons, and nine pounds of cocoons being required 
to produce a pound of silk, it will be seen that by 
tliis system of feeding, ninety-nine pounds of 
leaves only are necessary for one pound of silk." 

»' In the natural system, forty thousand worms 
consumed two thousand five hundred and seventy- 
six pounds of leaves ; in the artificial system, 
one thousand nine hundred and eighty-five 
pounds. These worms produced one hundred and 
thirty pounds of cocoons in the natural system, 
and one hundred and seventy-eight pounds in the 
artificial. The cocoons weighed at the rate of 
three hundred to the pound in tlic natural system, 
and two hundred and twenty-five to the pound in 
the artificial. It required ten pounds five ounces 
of cocoons produced by the natural system to 
make a pound of silk ; Eind nine pounds of those 
by the artificial. The forty thousand worms fed 
on the natural system made twelve pounds of raw 



silk ; the same number, fed on the artificial system, . 
made nineteen and three-fourth pounds. The 
natural system required an average of fully one 
week more time to produce the cocoons than the 
ai'tificial system occupied." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Descriplinn of Twgnty-eight elegant Historical Paint 
ings, illustrating the process of Growing and Manvh 
facluring Silk in Chin-a, wholhj by hand labor. 

[For the following valuable paper we are in- 
debted to Dr. D. Stebbins, of Northampton, Mas- 
sachusetts. These Paintings are all executed ob 
Rice Paper.] 

A gentleman who has been long engaged in 
the Canton trade, and while at Canton had oppor- 
tunities to become acquainted with the manners, 
habits and customs of the Chinese, has visited 
Northampton to become more acquainted with 
the state of silk culture here ; from whose scru- 
tinizing observations made while in China, much 
valuable information has been obtained. This 
gentleman has loaned the subscriber a volume of 
splendid Chinese paintings, which confirms oilr 
practice and culture of the Chinese mulberry 
(now called the Canton mulberry,) as correct and 



History and Culture of Silk. 



41 



]»roper. These paintings represent, on separate 
plates, all the successive processes of the business. 
You see the men, women and children, in their 
National costume, at work ; commencing with 
the gathering of the mulberry seed, cleaning the 
same — preparing the ground — sowing the seed — 
transplanting the young seedlings — gathering the 
foliage — feeding the worms — heading or cutting 
down the plants near the ground, to sprout again 
and multiply the number of stalks and quantity 
of foliage. You see them making up tlie silk 
into skeins, as wc import it, and the further pro- 
cess of flossing, reeling and winding the silk upon 
spools. The out-door men-laborers are dressed in 
plain loose fiock emd trowsers, or kilts, descend- 
ing to the knees ; some of the men with bare feet 
and legs, others of higher grade, with sandals and 
wooden shoes, adapted to their respective work. 
The women, boys and girls, are employed in 
gathering leaves, feeding the worms, reeling 
oilk, &c. Some of the ladies for the interior la- 
bors, have elegant loose dresses of various brill- 
iant colors, ornamented with wide embroidery 
around the neck and sleeves. The upper dress is 
loose, of gay colors, the sleeves large, something 
like that of American ladies at this day. The 
sleeves extend near to the elbow ; all the ladies 
and females have pantalettes of various colors, 
each in contact with the upper dress. The coun- 
tenance fair, delicate, and intelligent ; eyes down- 
cast. Most of the ladies have small feet and gay 
sandals ; the hair neatly dressed, ornamented with 
■flowers and jewelry, and all wear bracelets above 
the wrists. 

For the gratification of those interested in the 
silk culture, I shall attempt a representation of 
these paintings to illustrate the mode of silk cul- 
Tture in Cliina. By the plates, it appears that the 
Chinese sow the seed broad cast as we do small 
grain, which at a proper time they transplant into 
hills, like our Indian corn. The plants do not 
grow more than three or four feet in height during 
one season, and are cut down every year. 

The subscriber imported the genuine seed from 
Canton in 1834 and 1838 ; and has several acres 
in great perfection, among which are many seed- 
bearing trees, which produce their fair representa- 
tion as is evidenced this year (1843). During 
the visit of Dr. Perkins and his Chinese attend- 
ant to this country, they called on me, and were 
shown the Canton foliage, which was readily re- 
cognized, and which the Doctor and Chinaman 
-said was of larger size than in China ; and sug- 
gested that our soil was more congenial to its 
growth and developement than even that of China, 
its native clime. 

The multicaulis foliage was ezhibited, and the 
Chinaman replied " too much big." The Chinese 
do not use the multicaulis for silk. 

I have sent to China and procured another 
book of Chinese paintings on silk culture, and 
both volumes represent the feeding to be open, as 
we term it. I asked the Chinaman with Dr. P., 
if their worms ever became sickly, or stupid, and 
the remedy ? He opened his fan and passed it 
briskly over the table, to circulate fresh air. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE PAINTINGS. 

Plate 1. — Represents a field of mulberries with 
ripe seed, growing from the foot-stalk, a peculi- 



arity of the Canton mulberry, from one to foifl" 
inches from the ground, and from stalks which 
had been headed down. Two laboring men are 
gathering and removing the seed, one sitting upon 
a low stool, gathering the mulberry seed, the 
other with a basket slung over his shoulder, re- 
moving the seed to be separated from the pulp. 

Plate 2. — Represents two females busily era- 
ployed, one seated on a low stool, washing and 
pressing the mulberries, the other standing at a 
table, separating the seed from the pulp, by press, 
ing it through a bamboo sieve. 

Plate 3. — Represents two men with naked 
arms and legs, dressed in loose frocks and trow- 
sers, or kilts to the knees, with rude instruments 
in the shape of iron wedges with bamboo handles, 
picking up the earth preparatory to sowing the 
seed instead of using a spade or plough. 

Plate 4. — Represents two men, one with water 
to moisten the clods, the other in a crouching 
posture, with a rude instrument, in shape, like a 
mason's trowel to smoothe the surface instead of 
the harrow and roller. 

Plate 5. — Represents a man with his basket of 
seed, and sowing them broad cast. 

Plate 6. — Represents the mulberry plants 
sprouted, and a man watering them, having spa- 
ces left to pass between the plants, has two tubs 
of water and a dipper with a long bamboo han- 
dle, that he may throw the water at a consider- 
able distance. 

Plate 7. — Represents tlie plants sufficiently 
grown for transplanting, and two men, one on 
his knees, or in a crouching position, taking up 
and bunching the plants, the other carrying them 
away to be set out again. 

Plate 8. — Represents a field of mulberries, set 
in regular rows, apparently about two feet apart, 
and the same distance apart in the rows. Quin- 
cunx as we ))lant corn, with several stalks in a 
hill, one man wetting the bunches and handing 
them over to another person for setting out. 

Plate 9. — Represents a woman and boy sitting 
on stools gathering the leaves into baskets, each 
leaf carefully separated from the stalk by the 
thumb and forefinger, to preserve the bud and 
extreme ends uninjured ; the plants appear two or 
two and a half feet high. 

Plate 10. — Represents the stalks deprived of 
leaves, except the ends of the leading shoots, and 
a man with a calabash of water and a ladle, dis- 
tributing water over and about the roots of the 
plants, and another person setting plants in va- 
cant places. 

Plate 11. — Represents two females gathering 
leaves, the second time ; the trees appear to have 
grown considerable since the fiist pickmg, with 
more and larger leaves ; at this or the next pick- 
ing, not only the leaves but the topmost shoot is 
taken off to check the growth and hasten the 
formation of wood ; at this time the trees appear 
to be three to four feet high, entirely stripped of 
fohage. 

Plate 12. — Represents a man with a crooked 
knife, heading down the mulberries near the 
ground, laying them aside, apparently for fuel to 
heat the small furnaces for reeling, &c. 

Plate 13. — Represents the cocoons and millers 
in progress of maturity, and two females with 
gay attire, one sitting at a table covered with 



42 



History and Culture oj Silk. 



millers selecting their mates ; the other standing, 
even more gaily dressed, with her fan spread, and 
looking on with intense interest, the hair dressed 
with great care and neatness, wearing superb ear- 
rings and bracelets, broad lace around the neck 
and sleeves, and every female has pantalettes 
down to the ankles, like the men of higher grade ; 
out-door men and laborers have trowsers or kilts 
to the knees only. 

Plate 14. — Represents a female standing at a 
table with a bowl of warm water, the furnace at 
her side, pouring water upon the eggs to loosen 
them from the gum, and facilitate the hatching ; 
and a boy, suspending the papers or cloths with 
the eggs on bamboo poles to drain. 

Plate 15. — Represents a female sitting at a 
table, with a young child by her side, watching 
the progress of hatching the worms. 

Plate 16. — Represents two females sitting in 
chairs at a table, one with a feather, scraping the 
worms from the paper or cloth on which they 
were hatched, on to bamboo oval trays, of the 
size of a large tea tray, with open work at the 
sides and bottom for the free admission of fresh 
air, the trays having been sprinkled with fine 
chopped leaves prepared by a boy sitting and 
chopping upon a block. The other female taking 
the tray for removing to the next process, repre- 
senting the Jirst stage of the worms on the leaves. 

Plate 17. — Represents a female sitting at a 
table, distributing the worms upon the chopped 
leaves, to keep them separate and apart from each 
other, even in this early stage of feeding. A 
similar distribution is observed in every stage of 
feeding, in order to preserve the health of the 
wonn, and that the sickly might be readily dis- 
covered and removed. 

There is also a little urchin of a boy mounted 
upon a cage with puss in it, attentively watching 
his mother. This plate represents the second 
stage of feeding and size of the worm. 

Plate 18. — Represents an overseer, in elegant 
costume, with his fan, pipe and handkerchief, 
instructing the boy sitting on a stool by a block, 
in the act of chopping leaves for the young worms, 
with a basket to receive the leaves. This is the 
third stage and size of the worm. 

Plate 19. — Represents a man changing the 
worms from one tray to another, and placing 
them on leaves of full size, in such a manner that 
no two worms shall come in contact ; another 
boy is in attendance to remove the trays to an- 
other place for feeding them secure from insects. 
There is represented a large Canton leaf with 
two worms of the proper size feeding thereon, be- 
ing the fourth stage. 

Plate 20. — Represents a lady placing the trays, 
with worms distributed on the leaves, upon stand- 
ard frames, open to a free circulation of air, for 
feeding; and a boy handing leaves of full size 
from a basket ; tliese frames have screens of thin 
gauze, to protect the worms from the annoying 
• mosquitoes and other insects. On this plate, also, 
are represented large Canton leaves of full size, 
with worms feeding thereon, being the fifth stage. 
Plate 21. — Represents a lady sitting at a table 
with worms on trays covered with leaves, the 
worms separated from each other, ready to be 
removed for winding, and another female with 
a tray of worms, removing them to be placed in 



the appropriate cells for winding, and the worms 
of full size apparently seeking a place to wind : 
this is the sixth stage. 

Plate 22. — Represents a lady taking the worms, 
one by one, with her fingers, from the trays and 
placing them in separate cells formed of the bam- 
boo, bent to an oval shape in frames, for winding, 
instead of permitting the worm to select a place 
for the same purpose. 

Plate 23. — Represents a number of frames set 
up and the cells filled with cocoons, and a female 
spreading thick cloth before the cocoons, to ex- 
clude the light from them, as the worms are sup- 
posed to form more perfect cocoons in a dark 
room. 

Plate 24. — Represents a lady with a pair of 
tweezers or chop stick, taking the cocoons from 
the cells, placing them on trays, and another fe- 
male removing the trays to another place for 
separating the floss, by an easier, aud more expe- 
ditious process, than when done by the fingers in 
a dry state. 

Plate 25. — Represents a lady sitting by a 
small furnace, such as is common with us, with 
fire, and the cocoons in a vessel of water placed 
over the furnace, the lady with a pair of chop 
sticks in one hand to regulate the cocoons and 
with the other hand drawing the floss from the 
centre of the vessel, apparently through a small 
hole in the centre of something to keep the co- 
coons submerged, the floss passing over a small 
open frame or cylinder of bamboo sticks, which- 
tuming on its axis, is kept in motion by the floss 
in the shape of cotton batting passing over the 
cylinder, and through tlie fingers of the lady. It 
is deposited in a circle upon a tray by her side ; a 
much better mode than the one used by us, and 
deserves a trial to preserve the floss valuable as any 
silk : The lady has by her side a stand and tea. 
pot, cup and saucer, and a pot of elegant flowers. 
There is a large vessel by her side with cocoons 
in water deprived of the floss and ready for reeling. 

Plate 26. — Represents a lady sitting and reel- 
ing silk from the cocoons placed in a deep dish of 
water over a small furnace (like our clay fur- 
naces) with fire underneath, having chop sticks 
in one hand to regulate the cocoons. Tlie thread 
passes from the centre over a revolving cylinder, (of 
the same simple structure as in plate 25 for sepei- 
rating the floss) apparently through the centre 
and some contrivance to keep the cocoons from 
rising abeve the water which appears like soap 
suds, and probably cocoons would reel much bet- 
ter from soft water well soaped. From the fin- 
gers of the lady the thread is received on a reel, 
supported by a frame, the reel is turned by the 
left hand, another deep dish by her side filled 
with cocoons flossed ready for use — each dish ap- 
pears to contain only the number of cocoons for 
the size of the thread wanted. 

Plate 27. — Represents the long skeins of silk 
after reeling, hung on bamboo poles for drying, 
one lady handing them to a female who is giving^ 
the regular twist for skeins. 

Plate 28 — Represents a lady sitting in a chair 
— a large and high bamboo pole inserted into a 
block ; near the top of the pole passes another of 
less size, bent in shape of a bow, one end has a 
string passing through a ring on the side of the 
bamboo and kept in a bent position by a sus- 



Hitlory and Culture of Silk. 



43 



pended weight. Near the lady are four bamboo 
sticks standing upright, each inserted into a heavy 
block over which is extended a skein of silk ; (this 
is the reel) a thread of the skein passes over the 
other end of the bow and thence to the fin- 
gers of the lady's left hand and around upon a 
spool, turned by her right hand and several spools 
iUled, stand at her right side, this is the last of the 
historical plates of the book. 

The second book of paintings consists of twelve 
plates wliich, as a whole, illustrate the plan of open 
feeding in a different section of country from the 
first book. In this volume, it appears that there 
was danger from ants or other insects, as all the 
building are on posts over a body of water. The 
roofs are covered with palm leaf or some other 
material of warm climates. The sides and ends 
are open, to admit a free circulation of pure air. 
At each end are trellis fixtures and frames for 
receiving the oval trays ^vith worms, for feeding 
six and seven tiers of frames in hight. The per. 
sons engaged on different operations are numer- 
ous, of small size, and appear very active and 
diUgent. Each plate represents distant moun- 
tain scenery, with trees, shrubbery and splendid 
flowers in and about the buildings in pots. Each 
plate represents the different operations of labor 
requisite for perfecting the Silk Culture from the 
feeding of the worm to the reeling, twisting, color- 
ing and weaving the articles of manufacture, all 
done by hand labor. 

Plate 3. — Represents the feeding of worms 
upon the tree. On all the other plates the worms 
are fed upon the bamboo oval trays. The co- 
coons are placed in frames with cells for each 
worm. 

Plate 8. — The frames as set up upon an angle 
of about thirty degrees, the tops join, and the 
bottoms spread, with a small furnace with fire 
under each pair of frames for stifling the grub. 

Plate 9. — Represents the reeling, twisting and 
spooling, with very simple machinery. 

Plate 10. — Represents the silk colored, wound 
on spools — winding from the spools over a cylin- 
der in preparation for weaving. 

Plate 11. — Represents the whole coloring pro- 
cess — rinsing and suspending the skeins on 
bamboo poles to dry, and the process of weaving. 

Plate 12. — Represents the silk out of the loom, 
ornamenting with needle work, marking, &c. 

Remarks. — Among the males and females in 
every process of the work, there appears to be dif- 
ferent castes, or characters, and different dresses : 
some of the men have bare feet and legs, others 
with elegant slippers, some with wooden shoes, 
each dressed according to the work to be per- 
formed. 

The same difference of dress exists among the 
females. Those distinguished by small feet have 
the most elegant and splendid dresses. The fe- 
males whose feet are of the natural size, have 
thick shoes, and more plain dresses — but all have 
bracelets on the arm, — ornamented ear-rings, 
and the hair dressed with peculiar neatness, orna- 
mented upon the top and sides, with elegant 
flowers or jewelry, but no combs to be seen. 

The whole process of making silk, from the 
preparation of the soil, is done by hand labor 
with the most rude tools and reels. 

Although labor in China may be ever so cheap, 



(and their support is almost nothing, as the people 
live chiefly on rice) yet if they grow silk to any 
advantage, it does seem reasonable, that with 
Yankee ingenuity, — enterprise — industry and ma. 
chinery, we may compete with them or any other 
Nation, in this business. It will be recollected 
that in China, France and Italy, the raw silk is 
furnished and made in families, by individual ex- 
ertion, — and so may we, and sell it to the mer. 
chants or manufacturers. 

By the foregoing it appears, that the Chinese 
during tiie operation of feeding were very careful 
in keeping the worms from being crowded, and to 
give them a natural atmosphere. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Is our Country adapted to the Produce of Silk ? — Rea- 
sons why the Business will be Profitable. 

Is there any thing in the nature of the case — 
in our soil, climate, or in our institutions, that 
will prevent complete success in the culture of 
silk ?* 

1st. We are in the same latitude with those 
countries that are the most successful in its cul- 
ture and manufacture. 

2d. We are not only in as good a latitude, but 
our climate, in the same latitude. Is much better 
than the climate in a corresponding latitude in 
the old world for the growth of silk, as all testify 
who are competent so to do. 

3d. No man can doubt but our soil is fully 
adapted to the growth of the mulberry ; and 
wherever there is a pure atmosphere, a good sup- 
ply of food, and the requisite attention, silk- 
worms will live and prosper. We have this pure 
atmosphere, we can raise a supply of food, and it 
would be a libel on the character of our country, 
men to suppose, for a moment, that they are not 
capable of giving the requisite attention to any 
business they undertake. 

4th. It is the uniform testimony of those who 
are qualified to judge, that we can become a silk- 
growing people. 

It is admitted by all, that there is nothing in 
the nature of the country or its inhabitants, that 
will prevent a successful and perfect prosecution 
of this branch of industry. If, then, every thing 
goes to show that it can be cultivated, another 
question will very naturally arise — 

Can it be done profitably ? 

Your Committee are of the opinion that the 
culture and manufacture of silk, in all its branches, 
can, profitahly to those engaged in it, be intro- 
duced in this country. 

1st. The experience of all who have engaged 
in it to any extent, shows the fact. The people 
of some parts of Connecticut have pursued the 
business for nearly a century past. Would they 
have continued the business if it had not yielded 
a profit ? In the town of Mansfield, in Connec- 
ticut, which is exceedingly barren and unpro- 
ductive in the usual products of the soil, the cul- 
ture of silk has, for years, composed the principal 
business ; and the fact that they have continued 
the business, proves that, to them, it is profitable ; 
and to the profit pelded in its cultivation they 
■' Rsport of Mr. Bliss to tlie Legislature of Ohio. 



44 



History and Culture of Silk. 



owe much of their prosperity, We refer to the 
testimony of Mr. Gill, in another part of this re- 
port, and to the testimony of othere in this State, 
whose communications are herewith pubhshed, to 
sustain this point. Experiments have been made 
within the last few years, in different parts of the 
country, in almost every variety of circumstances, 
that go to prove, beyond doubt, that it can be 
made profitable to individuals, and to our whole 
country, in the aggregate. 

2d. It will not be doubted that the silk manu- 
facture is profitable in England. Yet she does 
not produce a pound of raw silJc. She cannot 
raise the silk worm — the humidity of her atmos- 
phere supposed to be the cause — yet, while she is 
under the necessity of importing all of her raw 
silk, she manufactures, profitably, to the amount 
of $75,000,000 annually. We have this advan- 
tage, that we can produce our oion raw material, 
and successfully manufacture it. In France there 
is also more manufactured than is produced at 
home ; and they import several millions annually 
of raw silk. Our advantage is, that we shall not 
be under the necessity of taking our gold and 
silver out of the country to pay for the material ; 
nor have we to pay duties and other expenses of 
importing it. All these items take from the cost 
of the article when manufactured, and of course 
all other things being equal, it can be manufac- 
tured at a greater profit here than in England or 
France. 

3d. As a further evidence that it can be profita- 
bly entered into, it will give employment to much 
of the labor of the country that is now unproduc- 
tive. The aged person, whose threescore years 
and whitened locks have exempted him from the 
performance of the ordinary labors of the day, 
may furnish for himself a profitable employment, 
and at the same time, an amusement, in feeding 
and caring for the silk-worm ; while children, of 
both sexes, who could in no other business be a 
source of profit, can do many things connected 
with the culture to as much as or more advantage 
than persons of mature age. So much is a clear 
gain. It is bringing so much labor into existence ; 
and the profit of this labor is a clear saving to 
the person to whose use it is applied. And further, 
it promotes a profitable and pleasing labor for the 
females of our country. What more delightful 
employment can they desire than the raising of 
the silk-worm and the reeling of silk ? The time 
once was, when the music of the spinning-wheel 
was heard in every cabin, and in every farm-house, 
while the matron of the house could be seen at 
the loom. But that day has gone by ; and the 
shuttle is now only thrown by the power of steam 
or the force of the water-fall, while the music of 
the spinning-wheel would scarcely be recognized 
amid the Babel sounds of a manufactory. We 
have, as yet, no substitute for those employments 
with which our mothers were familiar. 

The Silk Culture will fill a vacuum that has 
too long existed. It will furnish pleasing labor 
for the female portion of almost every family that 
is disposed to pursue it. And this portion of the 
family, whose labor has, from the nature of the 
case, been before in a manner unproductive, by 
this means will yield a direct revenue to the 
pockets of those to whom they look for protection 
and support. The following extract Irom the 



memorial of a lady of Tennessee, to the LegLs. 
lature of that State, undoubtedly speaks the sen 
timcnts of many among us : 

" We would remind their honors that female 
labor, in this country, is nearly prostrated ; that 
since the existing improvememts in carding, 
spinning, and weaving, by machinery having 
taken place in the United States, the labor of fe. 
males in those branches of domestic industry is 
reduced so low, that there is but little induce- 
ment to follow them except to make clothing for 
ourselves and our households. In bygone days, 
we could, by industry, not only provide clothing 
for our households, but could make a sufficiency 
of domestic manufacture to spare, to sell to the 
merchants to procure other necessaries for our 
families. This is not now the case ; when we 
manufacture these articles now, and take them to 
the merchant, we find them supplied with do- 
mestic manufactures from the Northern and 
Eastern States of the Union, at so low a price, 
that we cannot bear a competition with them. 
We belive that our time would be more profitably 
employed in the culture of silk, and that if the 
General Assembly (as most of the States of the 
Union have done,) will give a premium on co- 
coons, sewing silk, and raw silk, so as to en- 
courage our daughters, and domestics, and others, 
to engage in this branch of industry, it would be 
the means of improving the prosperity and hap- 
piness of our households, and ultimately add much 
to the wealth and prosperity of the country." 

It is evident, then, that that branch of tlie 
culture which can be carried forward by private 
individuals and families may be made profitable ; 
that it may be in a great measure, the product 
of labor, which would be unavailable in any other 
business. 

Fourth : Another ingredient that should enter 
into our estimate of the probable profit of the 
culture, is the fact, that the production of the 
raw material does not necessarily occupy but a 
small portion of the year, while in estimating the 
profits of other kinds of business, we start upon 
the presumption that the whole time is occupied 
therein. From this fact, that but a small portio* 
of time is occupied of each year ; and, the fact, 
that most of the labor may be done by the aged 
and infirm, and by children and families, if they 
have leisure, every farmer may raise from ten to 
one hundred pounds of raw silk, annually, with- 
out the investment of one cent as capital, and 
without adding to the expense, or diminishing the 
products of his ordinary farming operations. — 
This being true, no one can deny but there would 
be profit in it. In connection with this branch 
of the subject, we will state a fact that is now 
before us. In the year 1834, in Venetian Lom- 
bardy, there was $16,002,606 worth of silk 
reeled ; and this was done by 80,000 persons. 
Each person then reeled, on an average, $200 
worth of silk. This was all done in five or six 
weeks ; while the balance of the year was occu- 
pied with other and their ordinary avocations. 
Had they raised the cocoons, as well as reeled the 
silk, it would have been to them the same as 
the coining of $16,002,606 in gold and silver. 
This gold and silver would have been the pro- 
duct of their labor. But allowing them 20 per 
cent, for reeling, it is then true, that they earned 



Hittory and Culture of Silk. 



45 



$8,300,000, in that short space of time. It is 
then an important subject for consideration, that 
the time is short necessary for the production of 
the raw silk. 

Fifth : It is an evidence that it may be made 
profitable, in this country ; that it is, in fact, 
profitably carried on in other countries, where 
the people labor under great disabilities, with 
which wc are not at all encumbered. It is pro- 
duced at a profit, notwithstandincr every product 
is heavily taxed. Every pound of cocoons, and 
every pound of raw silk, is taxed ; and it is stated, 
that in the Neapolitan Territory, every mulberry 
tree is taxed, annually, about sixteen cents. If 
the people there can sustain themselves under 
these heavy burdens, and make the business 
profitable, shall we, with all our enterprise, ad- 
mit that wc cannot, when every thing connected 
with it, is as free from taxation as is the air of 
heaven ? 

Sixth : It is made profitable in countries where 
the soil and climate are not as well adapted to the 
culture as with us. In calculating the profits in 
other countries, a deduction is always made on 
account of a certain loss of a large portion of the 
worms. This arises from negligence, or from the 
climate, probably the latter. In many places 
where it is carried on p-qfitably, a loss of from 
30 to 50 per cent, is always sustained by the 
death of the worms. In this country no such 
loss need be calculated upon ; a loss will some- 
times occur from negligence or mismanagement. 
But it is beheved, as a general thing, that the loss 
can be brought below five per cent. Our climate 
is so pure that a loss in consequence of its influ- 
ence is not necessary. If then, those who must 
necessarily sustain such losses can make it profita- 
ble, cannot we, who are subject to no such dis- 
advantages ? 

Seventh : Another consideration of a good deal 
of weight, looking to its probable profit, is the 
fact of the uniformity of its value every lohere, 
and at all times, and the facility with which it 
can be transported. It will command its present 
price, or about that price, as long as the supply 
does not equal the demand. There arc times, 
when the ordinary productions of the farmer yield 
no profit at all. The market is glutted. There 
is no demand for the article, whatever it may be, 
and as a consequence his pork, beef, corn, and 
grain of every description, are so low as not to pay 
the cost of production. Not so with silk, either 
in its raw or manufactured state. Tiie supply 
cannot, for many years, equal the demand, if ever. 
It has a uniformity of value, and that value is 
measured bj' its weight. In this particular it re- 
sembles the precious metals. It has a value, be- 
cause it will always command specie or its cquiva- 
lent. It is, in fact, a very good substitute for it 
for all practical purposes, and, certainly, a much 
better representative of it, than that which forms 
the most of our circulation. It is a matter of no 
small importance to the farmer, that without any 
outlay of money, or any additional help, he can, 
in a few weeks time, raise something that is al- 
ways as good to him as gold in his pocket. He 
can have it worked up into clothmg for his family, 
jmd thus save the money that he lays out for the 
same material; or, with it, he can procure his 
tea, sugar, coffee, and all the variety of things 



necessary for every family to purchase ; or he can 
get the cash to lay by for a rainy day. And it is 
not like taking a load of hay, wheat, or potatoes 
to market, for the value of a load of each of those 
products can be carried in the work-bag of the 
good woman, and the matter is got along with 
without any trouble or expense. The merchants 
will, of course, be always glad to receive it for 
goods, as they can take a few hundred dollars 
worth of it to the Eastern cities, if necessary, 
with more ease than the same value in silver. 

Eighth : But it may be objected, that the price 
of labor being so high, we cannot compete with 
those countries where the price of labor is much 
lower. To this might be set off the fact, as in 
all respects conclusive, that experience has al- 
ready demonstrated, that, notwithstanding the 
price of labor, we can compete with these coun- 
tries in which the price of labor is low. But we 
go farther. In this country the price of labor, to 
a considerable extent, need not enter into the cal- 
culation, as we have seen, that the raw material 
can be produced by the farmers of the country, 
without any additional expense for labor at all. 
It will be done by labor that at any other business 
is not available. 

Thus the produce of silk creates the labor that 
produces it. It adds the product of so much ad- 
ditional labor to the country ; and to the extent 
that it does so, it is a clear jrrofit to the country. 
But facts go fully to demonstrate, that it does 
by no means follow, that, in countries where labor 
is low, the product of this labor can be afforded 
cheaper tlian where greater wages are paid. The 
price of labor generally depends \i\ton the indus- 
try and skill of the laborer. We can afford to 
pay for labor what that labor is worth to us. If, 
owing to the industry and skill of the laborer, a 
certain amount of lalwr gives us a product of a 
given value, we can, of course, afford to pay more 
for the labor than if the product was only one- 
half that value. And is it not a universally ad- 
mitted fact, that industry and skill, and conse- 
quently an increase in the product of any given 
amount of labor, go hand in hand with high 
wages ; or, rather high wages evidence the fact, 
that this industry and skill exist, and that the 
product of a given amount of labor is loorth more 
than in the other case ? 

And besides, in those countries where labor ie 
low they are surrounded with difficulties that do 
not affect us, which would counteract any advan- 
tage that they might have from the low price of 
labor. Their taxes on production are enormous, 
and they are compelled to calculate upon a cer- 
tain loss, by disease, of a large per cent, of their 
worms. 

England can furnish manufactured silks as 
good and as cheap as France and Italy — although 
she has to import all her raw material, and the 
other countries have the double advantage of be- 
ing able to raise their own raw material, and that 
wages are lower than in England. 

Holland can furnish linens cheaper than they 
can be furnished in countries where wages are 
lower. France can furnish woolen goods cheaper 
than Spain, while her price of labor is higher. 

And what is, perhaps, of as much importance 
as any thing, is the fact that in countries where 
wages are extremely low, it is next to impossible 



46 



History and Culture of Silk. 



to introduce any improvements. The work, from 
the picking of the leaves of the mulberry, to the 
finishing of the finest silks and satins, is mostly 
done by the slow process of hand labor. In coun- 
tries where wages are high, (and it would be so 
in this,) the skill of the citizen is brought into 
requisition, and machinery springs into existence 
to the aid of the laborer. And who can dgubt 
that in this country the time will soon come when 
machinery, as complicated and as perfect in its 
organization, driven by the power of the elements, 
as that now appplied to the cotton or woolen 
manufacture, will be applied to the manufacture 
of silk ? 

We close this part of the subject with an ex- 
tract from the memorial of Mr. J. W. Gill, pre- 
sented to the Legislature at its present session, 
which is a strong illustration of tlie point under 
consideration. He says : 

" Influenced by such reflection on these sub- 
jects, and the great benefit that would accrue to 
my country, if they could be brought into prac- 
tice and successful operation in a systematic man- 
ner, I concluded to devote a portion of my time 
and capital to a practical test of this business, 
which, for four years past, I have pursued, as 
per annexed scrawl. 

" In May, 1838, I purchased and planted one 
thousand Multicaulis, and three thousand Italian 
mulberry trees, at a cost of about $400. That 
season fed a few, say ten thousand worms, by 
way of experiment, and was very successful. Let 
the roots from multicaulis stand out during the 
winter, and they were generally killed by the 
frost. In April and May, 1840, I purchased and 
planted twelve hundred multicaulis and two thou- 
sand Florence, at a cost of about $800. These 
trees increased ten fold. At the same time I con- 
tracted for the production of one acre more, which 
produced three thousand two hundred multicaulis, 
at a cost of $460. At the same time I contracted 
v/ith John Fox, senior, and three of his family, 
all experienced and skilful machinists and silk 
manufacturers from London, for one year, at a 
cost of $720, and during the same year, they, 
with other assistance, constructed a number of 
looms, harness, and other machinery and manu- 
factured about $1,090 worth of silk velvets, hat 
plush, &.C,, from cocoons of ir.y raising, and pur- 
chases made from this State and Pennsylvania. I 
had but partial success raising cocoons that sea- 
son, owing to the loss of two hundred thousand 
fine, healthy worms, after their fourth moulting, 
caused by the neglect of a person to properly 
ventilate the room and feed them during a few 
days of my absence. In November, 1839, I 
purchased twelve thousand two hundred multi- 
cauhs trees, at a cost of about $G00, making in 
all, at that time, forty-two thousand six hundred 
trees, which cost $2,260 ; from which I sold four 
thousand six hundred for $1,400, leaving on hand 
thirty-eight thousand trees, at a cost of $800; 
and by September, 1841, they had multiplied to 
about one hundred and fifty thousand in number, 
and covered thirty acres of ground. During 
1839, '40 and '41, 1 constructed three cocooneries, 
worth $1,200, and a factory three stories high, 
forty by sixty feet, worth $1,100. Cash value of 
engine and machinery, September 1, 1841, $3,200, 
" Since then, I have added much additional 



machinery. During the past year I was com- 
pletely successful in my feeding operations, and 
produced eighty bushels of good cocoons, and 
had foliage and room sufficient to have produced 
double that quantity, but could not procure silk- 
worm eggs. During the past two years opera- 
tions in the silk factory, we have made thirty- 
five pieces of velvets ; length from ten to twenty- 
four yards, each, value from $4 to $6 per yard ; 
ten pieces of plush, from which we made twenty- 
four dozens silk hats, worth $48 per dozen ; one 
hundred pieces of dress silks, flowered vestings, 
&c., varying in length from ten to thirty yards 
each, and worth from $1 to $3 per yard ; also, 
sixty dozen cravats and pocket handkerchiefs, 
worth from $1 to $1,75 each ; and for all of which 
I have found ready sale. 

" Since September last, we have twenty hands 
regularly employed in the factory, who, with the 
machinery I now have, manufactured, daily, from 
the cocoons, about $30 worth of goods. I have 
about six months stock of cecoons on hand, 
which I have obtained principally from this State, 
New- York and Pennsylvania, where a bounty is 
given to encourage their production within the 
last year. 

" My establishment has been sufficiently com- 
plete and successful to repay the outlay for stock 
and labor in manufacture, and yielding a small 
piofit on capital invested. The more I become 
acquainted with the business, the more aanguinc 
do I feel of success. I have had many obstacles 
to contend with, snch as my own inexperience, 
the opposition of friends, and the impositions of 
speculators in machinery, trees and eggs, want of 
proper workmen and materials to construct ma- 
chinery, and every other difficulty attending a 
new and complicated enterprise. 

" I have succeeded in establishing the first 
regularly organized silk factory ever put in opera- 
tion in this State, or the United States, that pur, 
chases all the cocoons and reeled silks, from 
whatever part of the United States it may come, 
and manufactures the same into dress goods. I 
have practically demonstrated to the citizens of 
Ohio, and of the United States, that this country 
can manufacture silks, as well as produce the 
raw material; and I believe this business wrill 
soon become more lucrative to our producers and 
manufacturers than either the production and 
manufacture of wool and cotton." 

At the close of the following chapter will be 
found a Table of the Exports and Imports of Silk, 
prepai ed expressly for this work. The chapter is 
a continuation of Mr. Bliss's Report, in which 
the importance of the culture of this article is 
still more strikingly illustrated. 



CHAPTER X, 

Imports — Consumption — Market — Importance of the Cul- 
ture of Silk — Labor — Legislative .Bid. 

For the last five years, we have imported, ott 
an average, $18,000,000 worth of silk goods 
annually. This, in addition to what is raised 
here, is consumed among us. There can be no 
doubt but the market will be good until we can 
manufacture an amount equal to that which we 
import for consumption. Our imports will, in fact, 



History and Culture of Silk. 



47 



always be jnst the amount that the consumption 
of the country exceeds its production. 

The consumption of the article will increase 
in proportion as its product increases among 
us. Silk enters already very largely into the 
clothing of the people. It is used more or less in 
every family ; and while it can be had it will not 
be dispensed with. It is reasonable to suppose, 
as the article of silk, for which we now send our 
gold and silver to Europe, becomes more and 
more the ordinary products of our labor, that a 
much larger proportion will be used for clothing 
than is now used. Thus, when we are able to 
produce an amount equal to our present imports 
and our present consumption, the increase in our 
consumption will furnish a market for an amount 
equal to the present imports, and an addition to 
it to an amount equal to the increase in our con- 
sumption. 

But when we are able to supply the demand 
for home consumption, wo need not stop at 
that limit for the want of a market. The heaviest 
of our imports are from Great Britain, and will 
continue to be so. For all that we purchase of 
her, we must pay in some way. If we have 
nothing else that she will receive, our gold must 
go for the purpose. England manufactures $75,- 
000,000 worth of silk goods annually. She makes 
them, of course, to sell ; but in the first place, 
she has to buy every pound of the raw material, 
as she cannot raise it. She can make a profit on 
the manufacture, and as long as she can do this, 
she loill have the raw material, if it is to be had. 
If she can get it in no other way, she will pay 
the money for it. But she will get it where she 
can do it at the best advantage ; where, instead 
of paying the money, she can exchange her own 
products for it. Are not the commercial relations 
between that country and ours such that she will 
be likely to buy of us if we can furnish her ? 
She purchases the value of from fifteen to twenty 
millions, annually, of raw silk. She will buy it 
of us if she can pay us as eas-ly as she can pay 
others for it. Here, then, v;ill be a new market 
opened. The same may be said of France, as 
she purchases the raw material to the value of 
several millions annually. 

But there can be no doubt on this point : We 
cannot produce enough to supply the markets 
that will be opened to us, and not enough to 
affect materially the price of it. The demand 
will keep ahead of the supply. If, then, we can 
cultivate the growth of silk, and do it success- 
fully and profitably, and can find a market for all 
that we can produce, it may be very proper to in- 
quire into 

The general importance of the culture. 

On this point of the subject, a boundless field 
of inquiry is opened. Your Committee being, 
none of them, personally engaged in the silk bu- 
siness, and not having given the subject much 
attention, can only suggest such considerations 
as are the result of limited reading and reflection 
on the subject. But they beg leave to suggest a 
few considerations why, in their opinion, it is ex- 
ceedingly important to the interests of the coun- 
try that it should become a leading branch of na- 
tional industry. 

The wealth of a country is the product of the 
labor of that country. Individuals may become I 



wealthy by speculation, and by various means 
other than by labor ; but all that is obtained in 
this way by one, is taken from the pockets of 
others, and there is no increase in the aggregate. 
But the labor of a community will produce some- 
thing valuable as its necessary result : that is, of 
course, when the labor performed has that for its 
object. The wealth of a country will increase in 
proportion as the products of its labor increase. 
Every man can, by his labor, prodtice something ; 
and every additional amount of labor, when 
rightly directed, will give an additional product. 
To this product will be attached a certain value ; 
and it follows that every product obtained from 
the additional labor of the country, must add 
something to the aggregate wealth of the country. 
There can be no doubt but a large amount of the 
raw material of silk may be produced in this 
country by labor that in any other business would 
be unproductive. Most of the labor can be per- 
formed by aged persons, children and females, 
who, without this employment, would produce 
little or nothmg. In fact, the aged and the chil- 
dren would be a tax upon community to the 
amount of the cost of their support. There are 
in the State of Ohio 1,500,000 inhabitants. Sup- 
posing that, on an average, each family consists 
of five members there are 300,000 families in the 
State. Reducing this again to one-fifth, would 
leave 60,000. Does any person doubt but there 
are 60,000 families in the State of Ohio that can 
produce, each, ten pounds of raw silk every year, 
without the cost of any additional labor ? It can 
be produced mostly by labor that would otherwise 
be unproductive. On this supposition, the pro- 
duct of the 60,000 families would be 600,000 
pounds of raw silk. This, at $5 a pound, would 
bs a product of $43,000,000 to the "people of the 
State. But, while there are 60,000 that can pro- 
duce ten pounces each, there are one-half that 
number that can produce twice that amount. 
This would give an additional amount of 300,000 
pounds worth $1,500,000 ; in all, a product worth 
$5,500,000 to the Public. This could be done, 
and the products of the State in every other par- 
ticular, be as large as they now are. This would 
as really be an addition to the wealth of the 
State as though the amount were cosnec? expressly 
for her benefit. It is the product of labor other- 
wise unproductive, and so much clear benefit to 
the people. 

But look at the same calculation for the whole 
Union. We have 15,000,000 of people. One 
fifth of that number is 3,000,000, and one fifth of 
that number is 600,000. A product often pounds, 
each, would be 6,000,000 pounds; at $5 per 
pound, it would be $30,000,000. This is the raw 
material ; and this is made without any reference 
to the vast numbers who will make the silk cul- 
ture their business, and who will consequently 
produce a much larger amount. 

But further : — as soon as the raw material is pro- 
duced, manufactories will be established through- 
out the country. The only reason that they have 
not hitherto increased, is the fact that the raw 
material could not be procured to work up. 
Manufacturers are only waiting for this. When 
we can manufacture our own product of the raw 
material, we shall of course save to the country 
the profit arising from the manufacture. 



48 



History and Culture of SilJc. 



The above calculations may appear extrava- 
gant and visionary. But from what little exam- 
uiation we have been able to give the subject, we 
are persuaded that the estimates are too mode- 
rate, rather than otherwise. Mr. G. B. Smith, 
of Baltimore, a gentleman in whose opinions all 
who are interested in the culture will have great 
confidence, in a number of the Siik Journal, 
gays : " But let us make a calculation, for the 
farmers' domestic use, for the production of silk 
as a domestic article in all our farmers' families, 
whence the invention of machinery has expelled 
the spinning-wheel, and where very little profitable 
employment has been left to the females and 
junior and senior members. Suppose the farmer 
has an acre of ground planted with 5,000 trees, 
his children gather the leaves, and his daughters 
feed and attend to 80,000 worms. This they 
can do without materially interfering with any 
other arrangement of business or pleasure. They 
then reel the cocoons during their hours of leis- 
ure, and the result is twenty- four pounds of reeled 
silk the first year the trees were planted, worth 
to them $144, without a cent of cost, or the addi- 
tion of a cent to the expenses of the farm." If 
this calculation is a reasonable one, ours is cer- 
tainly not extravagant. Much might be added 
to it, and then fall far below the point beyond 
•which we shall not probably go. 

But farther — the following is a statement of 
our exports and imports, from 1833 to 1841, in- 
clusive. 

Years. Expons. Imports. 

1833 $90,140,433 $108,118,311 

1834 104,336,933 126,521,332 

1835 121,793,577 149,893,742 

1836 128,773,040 189,980,035 

1837 118,419,376 110,980,177 

1838 108,486,616 113,717,404 

1839 121,028,416 162,092,132 

1840 131,581,950 104.804,861 



Total $923,340,381 



^1,096,111,024 



It will be seen, that the balance against us, in 
the eight years, is one hundred and seventy.two 
mUlious seven hundred and seventy thousand 
dollars. To this enormous extent, there was a 
debt created against us. Wc bought more than 
we sold. And to pay this debt, the precious 
metals were taken out of the country, and the 
necessary result was pecuniary embarrassment. 
This will always, necessarily, be the case, when 
■we send om- money out of the country, whether 
for the purchase of goods, or for any other pur- 
pose ; as long as we can pay for what we buy 
■with our own products, our money remains with 
us, and is used as a circulating medium. The 
only remedy for the evil is, either to buy less or 
to sell more, or perhaps both. The excess against 
us, caused by the excess of our imports over our 
exports, for eight years is as is above stated. 
From 1835 to 1840, inclusive, the balance against 
us, was $132,607,723 ; and, during the same 
period, we imported siik to the amount of $105,- 
992,190, or nearly $18,000,000, per annum. We 
have paid so much for silks which we might as 
well have produced ourselves. The money so 
paid is a loss to the country. In 1839, we pur- 
chased of other countries, silk to the amount of 
nearly $23,000,000, as follows : 



Silks from India and Ch'ma, piece goo<ls. .... .$1,738,500 

" " sewings 50,65# 

" sewings from other places 78,984 

" raw silk 39,358 

" irom other places than India, veils, shawls, 

&C.&C 345,49« 

" other manufactures from other places than 

India 18,685,294 

Manufactures of silk and worsted $2,319,884, (al- 
lowing one half the Talne to be silk,) 1,159,042 

Total $3-2,838,008 

The importations of silk are one-fourth more 
than of any other ariicle. 
The amount of cotton manufact's imported was. $14,092,397 

Of iron 12,051,66« 

Of cloths and cassimeres , 7,025,896 

Other woolen manufactures 3,507,161 

One half the value of silks and worsteds 1,159,942 

Total woolen good3 18,831,907 

The amount of silk nearly equals that of woolen 
and linen together, and is equal to one half of all 
other fabrics conbined. Is it not then an im- 
portant consideration, that this expenditure be 
saved to the nation ! Abstract the article of silk 
from the catalogue of imports, and our indebted, 
ness would be trifling. But in addition to the 
debt incurred by our annual purchase, there is the 
interest on the loans made by the States, of 
$12,000,000 a year to be met, and an enormous 
debt of $200,000,000, being the loans themselves 
that must be paid some how or other. How can 
it be done ? It can, every cent of it, be paid by 
our exports of silk. After raising enough for 
home consumption, the world is then open to re- 
ceive all that we can produce. 

In the Burlington N. J. Silk Record, for Jan. 
1842, it is stated, that 

" In England the importation of raw silk, 
from the year 1821 to 1828, was 24,157,568 ll>a.; 
which, when manufactured, v.'as worth ,£120,. 
770,580 sterling ; and the hands required for its 
manufacture were more than 400,000. This sum 
is equal to $536,222,2371 or $76,190,462 each 
year. Of this amount, Italy alone furnished 
$59,881,233. In 1835, Great Britain consumed, 
at wholesale prices, to the value of $28,282,582 
of manufactured silks. The sum paid to weavers 
alone, not taking into the account what was paid 
for throwsting, winders, doublers, drawers, warp- 
ers, the soap, the dye-stuffs, and to various me- 
chanics, was httle short of $14,000,000; the 
amount of silk goods, now produced in that 
kingdom, is stated to be seventy-five millions of 
dollars .' But they raise not a pound of tlie raw 
material. 

" France manufactures $28,000,000 of silk, 
and imports of the raw material from eight to 
ten millions of dollars worth. She could manu- 
facture annnually $50,000,000 worth, could she 
procure it. England and France, in common 
with all civilized nations, are competitors for this 
precious material, wherever found ; but especially 
Germany, Prussia, and Russia, would enter the 
field, making annual demands upon us, could we 
supply them, for from 50 to 100,000,000 lbs. ! " 

We can export nothing else that will accom- 
plish the object. We can raise grain, but where 
shall we find a market for it ? The product of 
our cotton fields already equals the demand for 
it ; and in a little time longer, when its cultiva- 
tion becomes more extensive in British India, 
tiiere will not be a market for all that we now 
produce. 



History and Culture of Silk. 



49 



Another reason wfaj it is Important, is, that the 
profit of its cnltivation does not at all depend 
upon the perfection of our system of Internal 
Improvements. It is of such a nature, that the 
same facilities for transportation, that would raise 
the price of almost every other product, would 
not sensibly affect this. Our system of improve- 
ment by Railroads and Canals, is already so per- 
fect, and our facilities for transportation so great, 
that this view of the subject can hardly be ap- 
preciated. Every farmer knows that his wheat 
is worth on his farm just as much less, than at 
the place of market, as it costs to get it to mar- 
ket. A market is now furnished for wheat (al- 
though not so with most kinds of farmers' pro- 
duce) at almost all points on our Canals, Rail- 
roads, Lakes, or navigable rivers. If wheat is 
worth one dollar per bushel at either of these 
points, it is worth less to the producer, in propor. 
tion to the distance he lives from the point. If 
he lives ten, twenty, forty, sixty, or one hundred 
miles from tlie point of market, his wheat ia worth 
so much less than a dollar as it costs him to get 
it to market. The price of raw silk would not be 
thus affected, because it would cost comparatively 
notking to get it to market. Suppose the wheat- 
grower lives one hundred miles from market — he 
takes fifty bushels of wheat into his wagon, for 
■which he expects to get fifty dollars. It cost 
him fifteen dollars to get the wheat to the place 
where it is worth one dollar per bushel. His 
wheat yields him one dollar, less the cost of 
taking it to market, which is thirty per cent. His 
wheat at home is worth seventy cents a bushel. 

The load of wheat would weigh about three 
thousand pounds — worth at market fifty dollars. 
The same load, if it were raw silk, would, at five 
dollars per pound, be worth fifteen thousand dol- 
lars. It would cost the same to carry it one hun- 
dred miles, which instead of being thirty per cent., 
would be about one-tenth of one per cent. The 
eoet of transporting it being very trifling ; the 
article would, as a consequence, be worth nearly 
as much at any point in the interior of our eoun- 
try as at the point to which it may be necessary 
to transport it ; and any person who will make 
the calculation, can see that all the raw silk that 
can ever be raised in the State of Ohio, can be 
«arried, in a wagon, to the city of Boston, at a 
lees per cent., than the wheat crop can be carried, 
in the same way, a distance of twenty, five miles. 

But we have already dwelt longer upon this 
point than we intended. Everyman must admit 
its importance to the interests of the people. It 
opens a sure road to wealth. In order to lead 
every man to consider the subject, and to per- 
suade the people, generally, to go into it, it may 
be necessary, in the infancy of the culture in this 
country, to offer some further inducement, to in 
sure a fair commencement of operations. We 
then ask, is ir nkcessart to give a bountv on 

ITS PRODOCTION. 

It has been truly said by a writer on this sub- 
ject, that " every new enterprise, of whatever 
kind, or wherever undertaken, has its initial difii- 
culties, and that which is the result is attended 
with the most profit has, at commencement, usu- 
ally the greatest number. The history of new 
undertaking* would form one of the most inter- 
esting and instructive works that was ever pre- 



sented to man ; and now, when enterprise and 
perseverance are not, perhaps, the preponderating 
virtues among our species ; when enthusiasm is 
often observed to be suddenly quenched in disap- 
pointment, and the cry of humbug is raised to 
screen the stupid miscalculations of one class, or 
the want of intellectual perceptions in another, 
any attempt to inspire courage and confidence, 
where such can be made available to the public 
interests must naturally contribute to the sum of 
human happiness. 

It is believed, that the most sure way of in- 
ducing the people, generally, to commence the 
culture, is to offer a reasonable bounty to the pro- 
ducers. 

It is a new business. Our farmers raise theii' 
wheat, corn, and potatoes, and their other ordi- 
nary productions, year after year, and are satis, 
fied if the crop is usually productive and the 
price is usually good ; but it is with difficulty 
that they can be persuaded to encounter the seem- 
ing hazard of entering into a new branch of culti- 
vation. This is the reason our farmers have not 
already more generally turned their attention to 
the subject. If a small bounty is offered as an 
inducement, they are led to look at the subject. 
Being sure of reaUzing something from an at- 
tempt, and thinking that the amount of the 
bounty will at least pay them for trying tlie expe- 
riment, they commence cautiously. By a careful 
trial, they become satisfied that they can make it 
profitable without the bounty. The bounty offer- 
ed first induced them to make the effort ; and 
after having made the trial, they are fully satisfied 
that it can be made profitable — a. fact which they 
would not have learned had it not been for the 
bounty offered. This, in itself, is a sufficient 
reason why a bounty should be given. In France, 
and in other countries, where the silk culture is 
already, perhaps, the most important branch of 
national industry, and where, from the fact that 
it is so profitable, it is rendered of national im- 
portance that it should be fostered — it is encour- 
aged in this manner. Although all the difficulties 
of the commencement are past, yet, by the offer of 
large premiums, and by other inducements, the 
culture increases in amount, and the products 
improve in quality. This is the course frequently 
taken to enlarge the increase in the product of 
any particular article, which it is greatly for the 
public interest to produce. In tho year f837, the 
State of Maine offered a bounty, to the wheat- 
growers of the State, of two dollars on the first 
twenty bushels raised, and eight cents a bushei 
for all above that amount. The State authorities 
saw that this branch of industry was languishing, 
and that, as a consequence, the money of the 
people was sent abroad for bread, when she could 
as well have produced it herself. The offer of 
the above bounty had the desired effect, and tlie 
wheat-growing interest became a permanent 
one. 

The State of New- York, at the session of her 
Legislature of 1840-41, granted $8,000 a year, 
for five years, to be distributed among tlie several 
counties, for the promotion of the cause of agri- 
culture. She also gave a bounty of fifteen cents 
a pound on cocoons, and fifty cents a pound on 
reeled silk. Connecticut gives a bounty of fifty 
cents a pound on reeled silk. In Massachusetts, 



50 



History and Culture of Silk. 



it is fifteen cents on cocoons and fifty cents on 
reeled silk. In Illinois, ten cents on cocoons, and 
fifty cents on reeled silk. The bounty in Penn- 
sylvania is twenty cents on cocoons, and fifty 
cents on reeled silk. In Indiana, — cents on 
cocoons, and fifty cents on reeled silk. Bounties 
are paid in several other States ; and in Georgia, 
the bounty on cocoons is equal to their value in 
market ; and the State, at that, will be a great 
gainer, provided this induces her citizens to turn 
their attention to the subject. All the States are 
opening their eyes to the importance of the sub- 
ject. Every pound of silk that is produced in 
consequence of the bounty, is so much additional 
wealth to the community in which it is raised. 
It brings into that community an amount of mo- 
ney equal to the value of the silk produced. 

After the culture is once successfully establish- 
ed, the bounty will not be needed, as every man 
who desires to go into it can profit by the labors 
and the experiments of those who have preceded 
him, without any of the expense incurred by 
those by whose labors he profits. 

The main objection seems to be, that it will be a 
taxation of the many for the benefit of the few. 
It is true, that f*r the small sum that the bounty 
paid out may amount to, the many are taxed ; 
but is it for the benefit of the f etc ? We cannot 
think the objection has any force, for the follow- 
ing reasons : 

First : Although it proposes to tax the many, 
yet they benefitted by it to an amount infinitely 
greater than the tax.' If this small tax should 
effect the object designed by it, to wit : to induce 
a general cultivation of the article, no one will 
deny but it will be a great benefit to the commu- 
nity in the aggregate. If it induces the culture, 
so that our people can produce what they con- 
sume, it will be to the State a benefit to the value 
of the amount consumed. Because, if we con- 
sume a million of dollars worth, instead of send- 
ing this money out from us, it is retained among 
us, and is continued in circulation. It then ac- 
complishes a great general good. This ought 
to be sufficient. 

But is it not a benefit to the people of the State 
individually ? It benefits all ivho are engaged 
in it, of course ; and we should bear in mind, 
that it is the object of the law to induce all to 
cultivate it. Every man who pays a tax may 
get it back again ten-fold, and at the same time 
benefit himself, and confer a great good upon the 
public. 

But how is it now 7 Are not the many taxed 
for the benefit of the few ? We can say what we 
please about extravagance, about what might 
be, and what ought to be; still the fact is, that 
the people of the State do consume silk fabrics to 
a large amount. Every tax-payer in the State, 
and thousands who pay no direct tax to the State 
whatever tax themselves to procure the article. 
There is not a. family in the State, in which 
there is not more or less of it consumed. To 
whose pecuniary benefit is all this ? Certainly not 
to the consumer, but to the producer. The mo- 
ney goes into his pocket. Where shall we find 
the producer? On another continent ? The im- 
porters, the jobbers, and the retailers, are the only 
persons in this country who are pecuniarily bene- 
fitted by it, and they only to the limited extent of 



the profits they make, as it passes through their 
hands. The large proportion ef this tajj, paid by 
the people of the United States, goes out of the 
country to oil the wheels in the machinery of 
other governments, and to aid in cherishing other 
institutions, to which ours must necessarily be in 
direct variance. This enormous tax, it is true, 
is a voluntary one, but as really a loss to the peo- 
ple as though government should wring it from 
them, without appropriating it to their use. Thus 
we see, that the use of this article, which will be 
used by all, is a tax upon the consumer for the 
benefit of the producer. And when the consu- 
mers and producers are a different people, there 
is a loss to the consumer to the value of the arti- 
cle consumed. Now, any person can see that, if 
the article is produced in the same community 
in which it is consumed — if the producer and 
consumer are one, this loss cannot occur. 

If a man produces all that he consumes of any 
article, he of course need not pay out any thing 
for the article. It is the same with communities. 
If the people of this State produce all that they 
consume of a given article, of course they need 
not send their money out of the State for 
the article. An individual raises one hundred 
pounds of raw silk, worth five dollars a pound. 
He sells it at home to the manufacturer for five 
hundred dollars. With this he pays his laborers, 
and other expenses out, and has a handsome ba- 
lance for other uses. The purchaser manufactures 
the raw material — sells it to the merchant, by 
which he gets back his five hundred dollars, and 
the cost and profit of manufacturing it. With 
this he pays his workmen, all of whom distribute 
it among the community, for the necessaries and 
comforts of life. 

The individual who was the producer of the 
raw material, with the same money that he re- 
ceived for it, with others who are perhaps not at 
all engaged in the business, buy of the merchant 
all that they wish for family consumption. This 
enables the merchant to buy again of the manu- 
facturer, and the manufacturer to purchase the 
next crop of the original producer. So that we 
see the same money performing, over and over 
again, its proper functions, and is still retained 
in the community, that it may be continually 
used as a circulating medium in that community. 
How much better would this be, than the contrary 
state of things ! Now, the money that is paid by 
the consumer, goes to the retailer ; from him to 
the jobber and importer, and is by liim shipped 
across the water, and goes into the pockets of the 
foreign producer. The consequence is, that it 
takes more money to perform the ordinary opera, 
tion, for which money is used. If the article was 
produced, as well as consumed, among us, the 
money that is used as a means by which the arti- 
cle, in all its stages, is exchanged from one to 
another, could continue to bo used for the same 
purpose, and also to facilitate other operations 
that require the same means. Now it is used but 
once ; as, when it passes from the hand of the 
consumer, it goes out of the community. And 
to the amount that is thus carried away, other 
money must supply its place ; or so much of the 
means, by which the ordinary commercial opera- 
tions are performed, are gone, and the same ope- 
rations cannot be performed. This ia one great 



History and Culture of Silk. 



51 



cause of the general derangement of the business 
oi)erations of the country. Too much money is 
sent out of the country. Could it be retained 
among us and used, as it was made to be used, 
general prosperity would be the certain result. — 
This will not be the case, until we produce as 
much as we consume. 

The immediate object of a bounty is to 
induce the people to look into the subject, and 
to commence the culture. When once fairly 
started, the bounty will not be needed. The 
amount that will be paid as a bounty, will be a 
mere pittance at most ; and for every cent so 
paid, one hundred fold will be returned to the 
pockets of the people. And as the culture pro- 
gresses, induced by this bounty, property will rise 
in value, and the Treasury will be doubly replen- 
ished with the same amount of taxation. 



Importation of Silk Manufactures 
ted States from foreign countries, 
of the same, from 1821 to 1841 
being 21 yeurs. Prepared from 
ments, expressly for this work. 
Year. Imports. 

1821 ..$ 4,486,924 i 

1822 6,480,928 

1823 6,713,771 

1824 7,203,284 

1825 10,271,527 

1826 7,104,837 

1827 6,545,245 

1828 7,608,614 

1829 7,048,628 

1830 5,774,010 

1831 10,804,393 

1832 7,147,712 

1833 9,300,856 

1834 2,626,997 

1835 16,597,983 

1836 22,889.684 

1837 15,133,064 

1838 9,842,276 

1839 21,678,086 

1840 9,761,223 

1841 15,511,009 



into the Uni- 
and Exports 
, inclusive — 
official docu- 

Exports. 

^1,057,233 

1,016,262 

1,512,449 

1.816,325 

2,965,442 

3,234,720 

1,690,126 

1,223,184 

920,958 

952,079 

1,041,610 

1,288,323 

1,266,416 

896,801 

765,501 

760,822 

1,207,812 

666,529 

750,916 

1,212,721 

580,756 



Total, $210,541,051 $26,827,285 

Total Imports for 21 years, $210,541,051 

" Exports do. 26,827,285 

Consumption, do. 

Annual Average, do. 



.$183,713,766 



$8,748,274 



And including the estimated consumption of 
Foreign Silks, for 1842 and '43, amounts for 24 
years to $200,000,000 



RAW SILK. 

Imports and Exports of Foreign. Raw Silk (in. 

eluded for the above) for 5 years. 

Year. Imports. Exports. 

1837 $211,694 $118,434 

1838 29,938 79,251 

1839 39,258 4,682 

1840 234,235 200,239 

1841 254,102 227,113 

Total, $769,227 $629,719 



CHAPTER XI. 

Labor applicable to the Silk Culture— For the Clergy — 
Far Pauper Establishments — For the Shakers — For 
Schools. 

LABOR APPLICABLE TO THE SILK CULTURE. 

Having the trees and the buildings, there re- 
mains only the labor to be applied. Now in al- 
most every farmer's family in the country, there 
is considerable labor, which is comparatively una- 
vailable There are persons advanced in life, who 
have passed the season of severe labor. There 
are children, whose services might be made pro- 
ductive. There are young women, who cannot, 
or who, from filial duty or various considerations, 
are unwilling, to leave the paternal roof. There 
are many, who are averse to go out to service, 
and equally averse to go into a factory at a dis- 
tance from home. There are many young wo- 
men occupying a standing in society which, in 
the present condition of public manners, a condi- 
tion which we cannot alter or transcend at our 
))leasure, necessarily shuts them out from various 
employments, of which otherwise they might 
avail themselves to aid m their own support ; who 
are now comparatively without occupation, and 
whose necessary expenses it may be difficult for 
them and their parents to meet. PubUc opinion 
or fashion, is a despotic tyrant, whose rule is 
sovereign and inexorable. It must be considered 
likewise, that the introduction of machinery, the 
use of water power, and the large cotton and 
woolen establishments raised up in different parts 
of the State, have entirely destroyed what may 
properly be called household industry. Even the 
humble knitting-needle, is in many cases, com- 
pletely displaced by machinery. We complain 
that the music of the spinning-wheel, and the 
flying of the shuttle are no longer heard in our 
farm houses. We cannot expect it to be other- 
wise. This is not because our women are not as 
much disposed to be as industrious as their grand- 
mothers, but because, in truth, it would be al- 
most folly to contend by the ancient arts against 
the modern processes of manufacture. Then 
again, for want of this opportunity of domestic 
labor, thousands and thousands of our young 
women, forsake the parental hearth, and fly ia 
crowds to our cities, to seek employment in the 
various trades and arts which are there practised ; 
and, where unprotected and removed from the 
restraints of parental care, amidst the dreadful 
perils which surround them, they but too often 
find the grave of their honor and virtue : to them- 
selves, and to those, whom they leave behind, 
a more dreadful sacrifice than that of life. To 
all these descriptions of persons, the culture and 
reeling of silk may furnish a necessary, easy, re- 
spectable, and profitable employment. Many a 
small farmer in the State, without difficulty, 
without expensive investments, without using any 
but the services of his own family, and without, 
in any measure, interfering with or deranging his 
farminj; operations, may, under proper arrange- 
ments, produce his fifty, hundred, or two hundred 
pounds of raw silk per year. This, even at two 
and a half or three dollars per pound, a price be- 
low which it is not likely to fall, would afford a 
convenient and agreeable addition to his income. 
This seems to be entirely practicable. Here the 



52 



History end C'uUure of Silk. 



calculations are all closely restricted ; and founded 
not upon conjecture, but upon actual experience 
and determined results. This supplies a want, 
which is deeply felt throughout tlie country ; and 
opens views most grateful to the philanthropic 
mind. In Italy and France, as I am informed, 
the production and reeling of silk, are almost 
wholly conducted in this domestic way. The 
aggregate amount in such a case throughout the 
State, would be immense ; and this all obtained 
without any expensive advances or any great 
risks, or any labor, but that which is now com- 
paratively unproductive and otherwise unavaila- 
We. It may be considered in such case, as al- 
most a clear gain ; and whether it pays as well 
for labor, as other branches of agricultural or 
manufacturing pursuit or not, is of little considera- 
tion, compared with the fact, that it pays some- 
thing and a reasonable compensation, where oth- 
erwise nothing would be obtained. 

FOR THE CLERGY. 

There is another class of persons, to whom the 
culture of silk would afford peculiar advantages, 
and prove in no way inappropriate to their condi- 
tion, or inconsistent with their duties ; I mean 
the clergy. Every intelligent person, acquainted 
by experience and intercourse with society in 
New-England, especially in its rural depajt- 
raents, knows what an invaluable blessing, view- 
ed merely in a social aspect, this order of men 
together with the religious institutions, which rise 
or fall in a measure as they rise or fall, have 
proved to the community ; and how much it is 
indebted to them for the good order, the good 
manners, and the highly improved condition 
which distinguish it. But that the ministry may 
be useful, it must be, in a degree, independent ; 
and that, at the same time, it may retain its 
bold upon the community, it must not be felt to 
be burdensome. In the present condition of so- 
ciety, nothing has become more precarious than 
tke tenure of the ministerial relation ; and nothing 
more discouraging in the discharge of their re- 
sponsible duties, than the state of dependence 
upon public caprice, not to say public chcirity, in 
which they are now placed. To a truly pious 
and benevolent mind, it will be always grateful 
and delightful to dispense the gospel, as far as pos- 
sible, without charge ; and, if an apostle, that he 
might do this, served at his trade of tent-maker, 
a good minister will esteem it a privilege to be 
able, where it can be done without interfering 
with his professional duties and improvement, to 
supply, in a measure, by his own memual exer- 
tions, his own and the wants of his family. To a 
clergyman, then, in the retirement of the coun- 
try, living upon the micertain, scanty, and too 
often begrudged support, which is allowed him, 
what a valuable resource may the cultivation 
and care of the silkwonn now afford. By 
the labor of a few weeks in a year, and then 
only a part of the day, he may, with the aid of 
an mdustrious family, procure by his honest ex- 
ertions, a sum perhaps equal to that wiiich his 
people feel able to afford ; and thus obtain for 
himself, the means of many an innocent indul- 
gence; perhaps too, of educating his children, 
and of providing for a dependent family, a com- 
fortable subsistence in the event of his removal 
or death. I hope my brethren of the clergy, , 



will not consider these suggestions as in any 
measure disrespectful. They are dictated by a 
feeling, totally opposite to this. I should be the 
last to recommend to them the silk culture or 
any other business, as matter of mere pecuniary 
gain, but only on the ground of a just regard for 
their own comfort and that of their families. A 
little knowledge of human nature, will convince 
them that their people will be always the more 
ready to help tliem, as they find them able and 
ready to help themselves. The clergy, from the 
earliest times, have been the pioneers in agricul- 
tural unprovements in our country ; and among 
a rural population, I know not how, in a secular 
view, a minister can render a higher service to 
his people, or make a stronger claim upon their 
respect and gratitude, than by promoting among 
them the study of the natural sciences, the ex- 
ercise of the mechanic arts, and giving them an 
example of sound domestic economy, and frugal, 
intelligent, skilful, and improved husbandry. — 
There are too many such laudable examples with- 
in my own knowledge, to allow me to doubt that 
this may be done without in any measure inter- 
fering with his own intellectual improvement and 
the most conscientious, faithful, and useful dis- 
charge of his sacred duties. 

FOR PAUPER ESTABLISHMENTS. 

I cannot doubt likewise, that the culture of silk 
may be mtroduced with advantage into many oi 
our pauper establishments, where farms are con- 
nected with them. Here, often, there is a great 
deal of light labor available, which it is difficult 
and impossible to apply to advantage in the com- 
mon field operations of agriculture, and which, 
now applied to the picking of oakum or to knit- 
ting, amounts to little. This labor, under judi- 
cious superintendence, might be advantageously 
applied to the production of silk. 

FOR THE SHAKERS. 

I take particular pleasure in recommending 
the culture of silk to my respected friends the 
Shakers. They have every element of success ; 
intelhgence, skill, exactness, perseverance, abund- 
ance of labor, land enough ; and buildings al- 
ready prepaied for their operations. They, of 
any among us, would be the fittest persons to un. 
dcrtake the artificial method of M. Camille Beaa- 
vais. Their female aid is of the best description for 
this culture. They may pursue it to any desira- 
ble extent ; and I cannot have a doubt, if they 
should undertake it with their usual care and de- 
termination, their enterprise would be crowned 
with success. 

FOR SCHOOLS. 

Attempts have been made in different parts of 
New-England, to get up manual labor schools ; 
that is, schools designed to aid poor young men 
and women in getting an education, by making 
their expenses light, and allowing them to defray 
a portion of these expenses, by some labor, ren- 
dered daily or occasionally, either in a work-shop, 
or a farm attached to the institution. This is a 
benevolent design. That it has not hitherto suc- 
ceeded as well as could be wished, is not the fault 
of the scheme, but comes from improper manage- 
ment. Into such an institution, the silk culture 
may be introduced with singular advantage, if 
pains are taken previously, to have a sufficiency 
of food for the worms. The labor would be light ^ 



History and Culture of Silk, 



53 



It would occupy, excepting for two or three 
weeks, a small amount of time. It may be ex- 
pected to yield as fair returns as any branch of 
agriculture, which could be connected with such 
an institution. It may, under some circumstances, 
be favorably introduced into other schools. The 
occupation would prove as conducive to the in- 
tellectual and moral as to the physical health. 
The study of nature, in all her departments, is 
among the most interesting and valuable of all 
pursuits to the young mind. Every thing that 
brings the young more immediately into con- 
nexion with other living beings, and especially 
malies demands upon their pruder.ee, providence 
and kindness, becomes at once an efTectual teacher 
of the most practical, the most valuable, and the 
highest virtues. 

I have, as will be seen, mainly confined my- 
self to the discussion of the silk culture in Mas- 
sachusetts, eind with our present knowledge of 
the business, and our present prices of labor. 
Under how much more favorable circumstances 
it may be pursued where slave labor abounds, 
where the cUmate admits of obtaining three or 
four harvests a year, and where the best trees re- 
quire no care nor labor to protect them in winter, 
I shall leave others to determine. How well 
adapted this product must be to those farmers, 
whose situations are remote from market, and with 
whom the common agricultural products are too 
heavy to be transported, but with great loss and 
toil; how advantageously it might be substituted 
for that odious plant tobacco, which is an im- 
poverisher of the earth as well as a poisoner of 
man, and which holds the miserable preeminence 
of standing next to that curse of curses, intoxi- 
cating drinks, it is not necessary for me to say. 
How much more productive it may hereafter 
prove than we have at present any certain grounds 
for calculating, will presently be determined ; and 
I entertain the sangume hope, under an improved 
cultivation, of a greatly increased yield. 

If, under the circumstances which I have 
stated, and under the qualifications named, it can 
be introduced and extended in Massachusetts, not 
as a principal, but as a collateral and incidental 
l>rc.nch of husbandry and domestic industry, it 
must prove a source of eminent comfort and 
wealth. That the machinery for reeUng is simple 
and cheap, that the operation involves no mys- 
tery, and may be learned and performed by a child, 
are other circumstances which commend it. Mas- 
sachusetts, then, I cannot but hope, will see in 
this case both her interest and duty. As she in- 
creases her productions and her wealth, she in- 
creases her real power ; strengthens the attach- 
ments of her children to their home, and abates 
th6 desire of emigration. In introducing this ar- 
ticle, so emphatically of domestic and household 
industry, she multiplies the sources of domestic 
comfort and competence ; and affords no small 
nor inefficient contribution to the cause of good 
morals and philanthropy. 

I should do injustice to my own sense of gra' jg. 



his work ; and by his liumblc and unobtrusive 
labors, contributing largely to the clothing of half 
mankind, and creating yearly millions and mil- 
lions of wealth. It would be curious to calculate 
the hands he fills, the mouths he feeds, the wheels 
he sets in motion, the ships he loads, and thavast 
riches to which his annual labors amount. This 
reads a striking lesson to the reflecting mind, on 
the immense results which spring from regular 
and combined, though minute and often a dis- 
dained labor. Nor are his changes the less ex- 
traordinary or striking to the thoughtful mind. 
Nature is every where full of mysterious trans, 
formations, which show that the power of death 
has its limits, and indicate the wonderful pro- 
gross of animated existence. Having accom- 
plished his appointed task, he wraps himself in 
his silken shroud, and with him death is only a 
transient sleep. If left to himself, he soon emer- 
ges from his tomb, no longer a reptile, but a 
winged chrysalis, to enjoy another existence. In 
the curious transformations of this humble insect, 
man may see an instructive indication and testi- 
mony of the progress of being ; and a proof that 
death is not annihilation. May we, as men, ex- 
ult in the hopes, gathered from such beautiful 
examples in nature, and confirmed by divine reve- 
lation, that with man also, death is only the 
threshold of life ; and that for him to burst these 
cerements of the grave, is not like the silkworm, 
to pass rapidly through another form of being, 
but to enter upon an immortality. 



ful duty, if I did not call the attention of ^^ 
readers to the miracles of divme Provider -« ;„ 



iCe m 
ais en. 



this wonderful animal, the silk worm ; at 
trance into life, among the smallest of 1' ^^"^„ ^^ 
istences, which come within the cog- .L^„^^ „f 
our senses ; m six weeks, at farthest, ^^pleting 



CHAPTER XII. 

Testimony of Frederick ,A. Ross, G. B Smith, and others, 
on Silk as a Household Product. 

[If the following letters from the Rev. Mr. 
Ross, do not convince every reader of the practi- 
cability of the silk culture in this country, we 
know not what will. Those who doubt as to 
the reeling process may find a good lesson here.] 
Gideon B. Smith, Esq. 

Dear Sir : I never felt so sanguine of the silk 
culture as at this moment. There is nothing now 
in the way of its immediate advancement in East 
Tennessee, unless it may be that slowness which 
seems inherent in the motion of a farming people 
to change thfjir habits. I say there is nothing 
now in the way — because, since I recommenced 
reefing on the first day of this month, my success 
is such, f'jiat I intend to advertise to buy from 
one to t wo thousand bushels of cocoons. 

The great bugbear has been the reeling. That 
quest ;on, as to quality, I considered settled by 
'Tiy experiments last summer, although at a costly 
tri' A. Since I have recommenced reeling, I deem 
I'jc question of quantity disposed of forever. 
Presuming I should not be able to obtain cocoons 
for more than two reels, until the summer, I be- 
gan with that number on the first day of Febru- 
ary. My cocoons were very indifferent, with few 
exceptions, some not yielding more than eight 
ounces to the bushel — none exceeding fourteen 
ounces. Part of the time the weather has been 
very severe, filling my room with condensed 
steam ; nevertheless, I reeled, and two hours after 
dark, thus showing, what was not believed, 

D 



54 



History and Culture of Silk. 



that reeling can be done after night. Under 
these circumstances my average has been between 
nine and ten ounces for each reel per day. This 
reeling is better than the best average I saw on 
the books of the Model Filature in Philadelphia 
last summer. The best average I saw there, in 
three weeks' work, was ten and a half ounces in 
long summer days too, and having some, if not 
many, first-rate cocoons — none of whicj^l have; 
and I saw no cocoons there, so bad ag^many wf 
mine. I think I will show one pound per day to 
each reel, even with such cocoons as I have, be- 
fore the 1st of March. I have reached fourteen 
and a half ounces. Now, my dear sir, do you 
not say I have some reason to be pleased ? Many 
thanks to you for your encouragement to perse- 
Terance. The cost of my reeling is two shillings 
per day to each spinner, who finds herself. The 
flossing and turning the Teelm&jhe, together, one 
shilling more, if hired, or nothing, if little ser- 
vants are employed. Before the 1st of March, I 
will show, that without counting interest on fix- 
tures, &c., which will be a thing of nothing, I can 
exhibit beautifully reeled silk, which cost me two 
shillings per pound for reeling. 

In a short time I think I shall have a very con- 
Tenient filature, and silk reels enough, if I am 
sure of cocoons, to turn off sufficient silk to re- 
deem the bold promise I made you last spring. 
I am making improvements in the saving of time, 
&c. every day. The double strainer to each pan 
I find works well. 

Very respectfully, 

Frederick A. Ross. 

Kingsport, (East Tennessee,) Feb. -23, 1841. 



[We must apologise to our friend, Mr. Ross, 
for the publication of both the preceding and fol- 
lowing letter. They were not intended for pub- 
lication, but they will do more public good than 
private harm.] 

Gideon B. Smith, Esq. 

Dear Sir: Your esteemed favor of the 21st 
March, is at hand. Mr. Lynn I presume called 
on you, reluming from Philadelphia. We think 
exactly alike on the subject of our national inde- 
pendence. And I have always, before there was 
any personal interest, been a Tariff man ; my silk 
enthusiasm has hardly abated at any time in six 
years. It is now higher than ever. I delivered 
a lecture the other day twenty miles from home, 
in a court-house, and exhibited the model of a 
feeding and spinning frame, which I had carried 
in my saddle-bags. I enclose you an advertise- 
ment which I am spreading through this county ; 
by which you will sec that the business 
is no child's play with me. It is no longer 
experiment. I can instantly make it part of a 
large business operation. I want nothing but the 
certainty of sufficient cocoons to secure the fact 
of immediately converting multicaulis leaves into 
gold. The victory is won. The people have 
nothing to do but to secure it. Cocoons can be 
made in this county for $1 25, and, when labor 
is not hired, thousands will say, as a man said to 
my inquiry, ' what it cost to make the five bush- 
tia he sold me.' ' Cost ' said he ? ' Yes' said I, 



' what did the production of these cocoons cost 
you?' ' O ! ' said he, with surprise at my ques- 
tion, ' they cost nothing, sir : my little brothers 
and sisters made them, and their labor would 
have been nothing otherwise.' If $20 had fallen 
from the clouds into that man's hand, he would 
not have had a clearer gain to his income with- 
out additional expense. Thousands will answer 
in this spirit, ere long, I believe. 

My two reels are steadily at work. The silk 
reeled since 1st February amounts to about 
seventy pounds. Some of it as good as they can 
reel in Piedmont, to save their lives, (as the boys 
say) and the worst, many times better than any I 
have seen from Smyrna, or Bombay. Up to last 
Saturday, two girls in fifty-two days, all sorts of 
weather and cocoons, had reeled sixty-two pounds 
of silk, without their being pushed at all, and idling 
some of course. They are singing half their time. 
I hear them now. And are delighted with their 
work. The profit I am making at present, is 
greater than I expected it to be, or desire it should 
be. I could make more money at reeling silk, 
than any cotton plantation, or sugar, or gold 
mine in the United States. Two girls in fifty-two 
days have reeled sixty-two pounds of silk. 

The cocoons cost me $186 00 

The two girls wages, at 2s. each per day 36 33J 

Two reelers, at Is. for the two per day, (two 

children who turn theaspel,) 6 66} 

Flossing cocoons, at 12^ cents to the 1 lb. of 

«ilk, 7 75 

Total $«8 75 

Price of 62 lbs. of silk, at $5 50, 341 00 



Profit $102 25 

From which must be deducted interest on fix- 
tures, expense of coal, water, &c. After all of 
which is taken off, some of w hich would be only 
nominal, there is left a greater profit than I could 
expect or desire on a large business. In my ad- 
vertisement, you perceive I offer, conditionally, 
twenty per cent, more than the price now given, 
which, with the deduction on the cotton yarn (to 
the farmers as money) from the retail price, will 
overgo ^4 on the bushel, making a pound of silk. 
It may be less on the inferior cocoons per ounce. 
I shall probably pay the equivalent to .$4 per 
sixteen ounces, without regard to my condition, 
since I have read your letter. 

I am fitting up my cocoonery to feed with th« 
branches, on the principle of Mr. Morris, of Bur- 
lington, modified. I dispense with his spinning 
frame as he has it horizontal above each feeding 
frame, and have it perpendicular between the two 
shelves, which form one row. I have no apron 
or shelf to catch the litter, that may riddle through 
to the ground. 

We talked about this, and you thought there 
was no need of any thing to catch the litter. 
The whole affair is very cheap, and I intend to 
give it a fair trial ; my first crop will be 500,000. 
I kill the chrysalis (which I forgot to tell you) in 
a house, such as is used for drying fruit. It cost 
but a trifle, and in one night the work is done, 
aiid well done. I want nothing else, neither for 
speed, cheapness, or perfect work. 

I have scribbled this in a great hurry. But 
being on my hobby, I have kept him going. 

Mr. M. of B. says he stopped lor the cold 
weather. I reeled when the thermometer was 



History and Culture of Silk, 



55 



nearly at zero ; and two hours after night bcaides, 
every night until 1st March. I reeled my pound 
to the reel in the day as I promised you, and 1 
wish I could send you one of the hanks. The 
cocoons were fine, and the silk is beautiful, like 
threads of silver, and as even and smooth as 
glass. That best day's work as to quantity, is 
not surpassed by any other in quality. And that 
day's work can be done any time with sueh 
cocoons, and more than that, although the ave- 
rage is nothing like it in quantity. The cocoons 
are indifl'erent. Very Respectfully, 

Fredkrick a. Ross. 
Rotherwood, ^Sjtril 6, 1941. 

[We must remind the reader that the girls who 
reeled the silk for Mr. Ross, had never seen a 
cocoon or a reel, till last fall ; that they learned 
to reel, under Mr. Ross' direction, from instruc. 
tions given in the Silk Journal ; and to this day 
have never seen a foreign reeler or a thread of 
foreign reeled silk. — Ed.] 

THE ART OF REELING SILK. 

One of the greatest obstacles to the progress of 
the silk business in the United States has always 
been the supposed difficulty of reeling the co- 
coons. Those who have been familiar with the 
writings of the Editor of the Silk Journal for 
fifteen years past, will remember with how much 
pertinacity he has persisted in asserting the ex- 
treme simplicity of the art of reeling. Most per- 
sons are familiar with the fact, that many years 
ago an attempt was made, and proved nearly suc- 
cessful, in consequence of the highly respectable 
character of at least one of the advocates of the 
measure, to induce Congress to endow a school 
filature in Philadelphia, with $60,000, on condi- 
tion of its teaching sixty young men, to be nomi- 
nated by the government from the different states, 
in the art of reeling. The terms on which these 
young men were to be instructed, were, that they 
should attend in Philadelphia three successive 
summers, four months each term, find themselves 
in board and all other expenses, and at the end 
of three years, receive a certificate of proficiency. 
They might then return to their several residen- 
ces, and institute schools for the instruction of 
others. The managers of the school filature 
were to have all the benefit of the labor of the 
young men in reeling, as well as the original 
$60,000. For several years this magnificent 
project was before Congress ; it was reported fa- 
vorably on by the committees of each House, and 
came near its consummation several times. Du- 
ring the whole time it was before Congress, the 
Editor of this Journal was engaged in opposing 
it, by publications illustrating the simplicity of 
the art of reeling, and the entire absence of apy 
necessity for such a school. This opposition <ilti- 
mately prevailed, and the attempt wac aban- 
doned ; but the idea of the difficulty of i;he art of 
reeling had become so deeply impressed upon the 
public mind, by the memorials of the applicants, 
reports of committees, &-c. that to this day it has 
been found almost impossible to efiuce it. Time 
and again have we been applied to, to send skilful 
reelers to this and that place, all the applicants 
saying they can produce the cocoons in abund. 
ance, but can make no use of them, &c. We 



have invariably refused to send reelers to a dis- 
tance, even though they were " as plenty as black, 
berries," tellmg the applicants to make their own 
reelers, by hiring some intelligent girls, and 
teaching them to reel by the instructions given in 
the Journal. Wherever this plan has been pur- 
sued perseveringly, it has succeeded. It is now so 
that every person can jnate his own reelers in less 
time than it would take to travel from Baltimore 
to Tennessee, with less expense than would be 
required to pay their stage fare one hundred miles, 
and with the important advantage of the reelers 
thus made being always at home, and at com- 
mand when wanted. Another important consid- 
eration ought not to be overlooked — the labor of 
young women instead of young men, is employed, 
thus giving employment to a large and valuable 
class of society, who, by the invention of ma- 
chinery, have been deprived of their knitting 
needles, spinning-wheels, and of every species of 
employment, except the sewing needle ; and the 
proceeds from that, so much reduced by the com- 
petition thrown upon it by the absence of other 
employment, that the breath of life can scarcely 
be drawn from it. 

If no other result were to accrue from the intro- 
duction of the silk culture, than that of furnish- 
ing profitable employment to females, we should 
consider it of immense importance. How many 
thousands of females are there in the United 
States, incapable of maintaining themselves, and 
entirely dependent upon friends for support, or 
depending upon the precarious and stinted pit- 
tance derived from the needle ? There is not a 
city, village, or neighborhood of twenty families 
in the whole Union, that does not present more or 
less of such females. Now if they were employed 
in reeling silk, the amount of good it would con- 
fer upon the country would be incalculable. First, 
these females -would be able to earn a handsome 
support for themselves, and thus save that much 
of dead expense to the country. Second, they 
would be able not only to support themselves de- 
cently, but could accumulate a han^fsome income. 
Third, every pound of silk they produce would 
be a ten dollar gold piece adJed to the productive 
wealth of the country ; bpoause it would save to 
us the five dollar goh' piece now sent abroad to 
purchase it, and w should have the silk also. 
Suppose there arc twenty thousand of sueh fe- 
males in the wMe Union that might be thus em- 
ployed, (and we believe there are double that 
number,) e-id suppose they reel one pound of silk 
per day, during eight months of the year, what 
mould be the result to them and to the country ? 
To chem it would yield $100 a year, leaving 
tfeem abundant time for improvement and recrea- 
tion ; whereas, now, they earn nothing. To the 
country it would yield four millions pounds of 
raw silk worth at least sixteen millions of dollars 
for exportation, or manufacture and consumption ; 
and thus that amount of monc}', now annually 
exported, saved to the countrjs besides putting us 
in possession of the silk ! Will not our head men 
turn their attention to this subject ? Why will 
not the leading men in each neighborhood intro- 
duce the subject among their neighbors? All 
that is necessary to accomplish this great design, 
is a little persevering effort on the part of the 
leading men and women. We can refer to many 



56 



History and Culture of Silk. 



respectable ladies in different parts of the country 
that already wear silk dresses of their own manu- 
facture. We can designate one in one of the 
most respectable families within sight of the flag 
on the capital at Washington, who can show a 
silk dress of her own production, ab ovo, of a 
quality equal to any that was ever made in France. 
We can show a sample of dress silk, made by a 
lady of the society of Friends, in North Carohna, 
by her own hands, from the feeding of the worms, 
to the weaving, coloring, and finishing, of a 
quality superior to any that ever crossed the At- 
lantic westwardly. Finally, we can refer to la. 
dies in different parts of the country, and those 
not few in number, who only wait for proper en- 
couragement and instruction to go and do hkewise. 
And after all this we shall be asked, " what is 
to be done, and by whom, to effect so great, so 
desirable a good, as the introduction of the cul- 
ture of silk, and the making of silk reelers of all 
the females you speak of — what do you want us 
to do ? " We answer — we want the Government 
to collect the proper proportion of the expenses of 
Government from duties on silk ; this would 
serve as a small encouragement to our people to 
commence rearing silk worms. And then we 
want every influential man and woman to set the 
example by producmg and reeUng silk, that their 
more indigent and ignorant neighbors may see 
what can be done, and thus be enabled to do it. 
These are what are wanted, and nothing else, to 
save our country twenty millions of dollars annu- 
ally, besides supplying us with more and better 
silk than we now get by sending our silver and 
gold to Europe to pay for it. G. B. S. 

The farmer who would enjoy comfort and 
plenty must have more to sell than he needs to 
buy ; indulging in luxuries only when they can 
be purchased by the surplus produce of the fann 
after his necessary wants have been supplied. 
That this extra supply can be secured to him by 
moderate industry skillfully applied, ought not to 
be doubted, and with it he could not fail to have 
means for purc^sing the raw materials when- 
ever demanded by the exercise of his skill in pre- 
paring household pro&icts. 

Water power was fir»L applied to the spinning 
of cotton in 1804. Prior \o that time a larger 
part of our clothes were houstljold manufactures. 
Many then thought the nation would be ruined 
by so serious an interruption ol spinning and 
weaving, but the spirit of invention and enter- 
prise which distinguish our country aM the age, 
has originated other spheres for the extrtion of 
skill and the display of industry in the domestic 
circle. And even in regard to products now mtu;h 
cheapened by improvements in machinery and 
by " division of labor," in connexion with the 
apphcation of water and steam power wherever 
domestic industry finds no other objects to task 
its skill and energy, it may yet continue to move 
in its wonted paths, under the full conviction that 
every exercise of skill, and all the habits of indus- 
trious employment are in themselves sources of 
numerous benefits, both direct and collateral, and 
that the products of skill thus exerted, will be 
duly noticed and appreciated. 

The manufacture of palm leaif hats and straw 
bonnets (even though steam in its widespread 



application has reached to them,) yet deserves- 
the attention of housewives and their families ; 
in other methods which their own ingenuity and 
good sense will from time to time suggest, they can 
show their fondness for industry. But this silk 
culture, in particular, opens before them an ex- 
tended field for the profitable exercise of Uieir 
sldll and talent. 

I would fain hope the time is not very far 
distant when this subject will receive general at- 
tention — when we shall have orchards of mul- 
berry trees as we now have apple trees, and when- 
our ladies will be dressed in silks of their own 
manufacture. It can scarcely be questioned that 
our soil and climate are both most propitious for 
the growth of the mulberry — we certainly have 
skill and industry equal to the enterprise of cul- 
tivating the tree, growing the worm, and manu- 
facturing the silk. And it is hoped these will 
soon be regarded as necessary appendages of a 
well regulated farm. On this subject the ladies 
will give us the liberty of addressing to them a 
few words of special counsel. It is in our power 
to become a great silk growing community, and 
that such a consummation is exceedingly desira- 
ble cannot reasonably be doubted. But for seeing 
this result we must call to our aid female influ- 
ence — the lever that is wielded with such potency 
for the accomplishment of benevolent and useful, 
enterprise. To us it seems the duty and privi- 
lege of every mother in the nation to endeavor to 
call forth and guide the ingenuity of her daugh- 
ters — giving it such a direction that it shall ele- 
vate our national character, and by diminishing 
our dependence on foreign nations form the inde- 
pendence of our own. Are the females of our 
country inferior in point of taste and invention 
to those of France ? They certainly are not, 
though they have as certainly seemed to -vne with 
each other in their servile dependence on 
French fashions and finery — to the positive injury 
of the nation in the conseqi;ent extravagant im- 
portations of French silks and fancy articles for 
their use. But would it not be far more indepen- 
dent, noble, and in every respect more becoming 
for our fair country-women to employ their leisure 
hours in preparing dresses from materials of do- 
mestic growth and manufacture, after patterns 
harmonizing with their own refined tastes, and 
better suited to our climate than those of the 
French ? 

Let the ladies then adopt the position that 
growing and reeling of silk must become a pro- 
minent object of household industry. Let them 
employ their influence with their husbands and 
brothers to procure and set out the mulberry before- 
the next county Fair, and themselves, as soon 
as possible, begin the work of growing the silk» 
No work could be more appropriate for them 
th&Q this — as it is periodical, and allows of long- 
inter-rals of rest — and the reeling is an employ- 
ment ai once easy, social, and accordant with 
feminine Angers and habits. 

Labor beutowed on the silk culture certainly 
will not be in vain, for no department of agricultu- 
ral labor yields more ample remuneration than this. 
Alexander Walsh, Committee, 

Mrs. Brooks, of Scituate, Mass., who claims 
some ehare in the Scituate reel, to which I have 



History and LuUure of culk. 



57 



referred,* has distinguislied herself for her zeal and 
success in the culture of silk, in which for ten 
years she has been more or less engaged. She 
merits most justly a part of that brilliant eulogi- 
um, which the author of the book of Proverbs 
has pronounced upon a good woman. I do not 
say that she has not just claims to the whole ; but 
it is not within my province to adjust that ac- 
count. " She layeth her liands to the spindle ; 
her hands hold the distatF. She maketh herself 
covering of tapestry ; and her clothing is silk 
and purple."t Mrs. Brooks has produced and 
completed from the egg three full gown patterns 
of silk ; and considerable quantities of sewings. 
She surprised me by saying, that if her silk cloth 
could be sold for one dollar per yard, taking in 
the whole aftair of production and manufacture, 
she could get one dollar per day for her labor. 
My surprise, mingled with some incredulity, has 
not wholly ceased. Her veracity is beyond ques- 
tion ; but something must be allowed for the en- 
thusiasm with which success has inspired her; 
and if there be no error, yet I fear there may be 
a httle poetry in the calculation. It is almost 
universal since the introduction and extraordinary 
improvements of manufacturing machinery, to 
mourn over the decline of houseliold industry 
properly so called ; to speak of it as we are ac- 
customed to speak of the existence of some an- 
cient cities — as a thing that was, but which has 
now become purely matter of liistory ; what our 
grandmothers performed with their own hands, as 
only suited to point the moral of some story in a 
winter evening ; to consider it now not the province 
of women to make the clothes but to wear the 
clothes; and like other beautiful flowers, referred 
to in the sacred book, with which nature is adorn- 
ed, though they may array themselves in the 
gorgeousness of regal magnificence to regard 
them as no longer doomed " to toil and to spin." 
The eminent industry of Mrs. Brooks and Miss 
Rapp will do something towards redeeming the 
chai'acter of our own country-women from a re- 
proach but too often cast upon them by those who 
seek to find an apology for their own indolence, 
extravagance, and want of enterprise in the ima- 
gined and magnified deficiencies and faults of 
others. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Sixteen Experiments in Growing Silk, in the different 
Slates, asfurnislied by the respective individuals. 

Experiment 1. — James Dean, Greenfield , Mass. 

For a considerable period my attention has been 
directed to the patriotic exertions made to intro- 
duce the culture of silk into this country, but falling 
in with the prevailing opinions of the day, I have 
regarded the establishment of this important 
.branch of agricultural pursuit as visionary and im- 
practicable. 

To satisfy myself as to the feasibility and prof- 
its of the silk culture, I have made such practical 
experiments in feeding worms and reeling silk, as 
to leave no doubts upon my mind, regarding these 
points. Throughout the wonderful mutations 



* Colmau on the Ajricalture of Massachusetts. 
t Prov. xxii. vs. 19, ii. 



which occur in the brief existence of these pre- 
cious insects, although a perfect novice, my suc- 
cess was complete. There is no secret, no com- 
plexity, or mystery in the art, but far otherwise. 
It involves but few principles, and those of great 
simplicity. The entire range of fundamental reg- 
ulations are embraced in a sufficient allowance of 
space for the insects, and abundance of fodder for 
their consumption, a constant supply of pure air, 
and unremitting diligence in regard to cleanliness. 
In our auspicious climate, an intelligent observ- 
ance of these rules will surely lead to successful 
results. 

You are probably aware that there are two sys- 
tems of rearing silk worms, the natural and arti- 
ficial. The first was adopted by myself and is the 
one in general use, being the simplest in its de- 
tails, and, therefore, the easiest in practice. It is 
adopted by those who engage in the culture of silk 
to a limited extent, or as a collateral branch of 
agriculture. It dispenses with the complicated 
preparations of a systematic course of rearing, and 
adapts itself to such ready means as the tenants 
of the soil possess. By the appropriation of a 
moderate space of ground for leaves, a crop of ten 
to fifty pounds of silk may be reeled, without es- 
sentially interfering with the farmers* legitimate 
plans. Through the operations of this system, the 
European markets are mostly supplied ; the feed- 
ing season embracing but a brief portion of the 
year. Silk is, therefore, an integral production 
of the soil, a surplus commodity, which finds its 
way every where, and enriches the producer, for 
every body is the consumer. 

The artificial system is conducted on strict 
scientific principles. Its prevailing features con- 
sist in maintaining an artificial temperature at the 
exact degree best adapted to developc the vital 
energies of the silk worm ; in neutralizing the ex- 
tremes of humidity and aridity ; in incessant feed- 
ing by night and by day ; and by observing such 
other regulations as best promote the health of the 
estabhshment, abridge its labors, and the while 
yielding the greatest amount of silk. Of course 
this plan is only chosen when the business is pros- 
ecuted on an extensive scale, for the cost of build, 
ings and fixtures, the laborious service and degree 
of skill it demands, are very considerable. The co- 
cooneries are fitted in a permanent style, with eve- 
ry appliance for pushing its little tenants through 
their rapid evolutions in the shortest possible peri- 
od. For not only by accelerating the labors of 
the silk werm, do we abridge the period of its life 
at least one-third, but we augment its produce in 
a corresponding ratio. We positively obtain in 
twenty- four days a quantity of silk greater in 
amount and superior in quality than when the 
process is protacted tlirough forty days; for it 
seems to be a law, that the nearer this precious 
insect is kept to a certain point of temperature, 
and the more assiduously its wants are supplied, 
the more perfect will be its developements and 
valuable its products. It unquestionably is so, 
and it would seem, therefore, that this method 
alone would be selected. But it must be remem- 
bered, that its application is calculated for an ex- 
elusive business, which contemplates the culture 
of immense numbers, and the expectation of cor- 
responding profits. In cutting short the period 
of feeding we do not thereby diminish the quan- 



58 



History and Culture of Silk. 



tity of forage ; for, in large establishments, stim- 
ulated by the excitement of an elevated temper- 
ature, the consumption of leaves is enormous. — 
in the natural system, we bestow upon a brood of 
silk worms no more than ordinary attention to its 
wants ; we feed them, protect them from their 
enemies and the vicissitudes of climate, and leave 
them to that unerring instinct which impels them 
to construct their silken spheres. When the cul- 
tare of silk is merely an incidental branch of do- 
mestic industry, it is no advantage to abbreviate 
its labor, at the expense of other interests, and 
where great numbers are not involved, it would 
be far from repaying the extra cost. The artifi- 
cial system is a beautiful result of philosophical 
experiment, and, under all circumstances, the 
more near we approximate its regulations, without 
incurring its expenditures, the greater will be our 
success. 

Whether we adopt the natural or artificial me- 
thods, it is a precaution of vital consequence, that 
the larvas be distributed over an area of space cor- 
responding to tlieir rapid growth, taking care 
that they never be crowded. It matters not how 
well all other rules aie observed, if this be disre- 
garded, they sicken in great numbers, or, at best, 
spin but a worthless cocoon. To promote in them 
the highest state of health, free space and pure 
air are indispensable. The atmosphere of the 
building must be kept pure by cleanliness and 
uninterrupted ventilation. When an abundant 
supply of leaves is superadded to these requisi- 
tions, we never hear in this climate of the loss of 
eilk-worms by disease. This is the secret of cul- 
tivating silk, every step of which, from the first 



existence of the worm to the filature of its pre- 
cious cocoons, is, with singular fitness, adapted 
to the comprehension and powers of the young, 
and to the infirmities of maturer age. The in- 
gathering of leaves, the management of feeding 
and the filature, are performances that do not 
exceed the strength of childhood. In the silk dis- 
tricts of Europe, the insects are reared, and the 
silk reeled almost exclusively by women and chil- 
dren. In an ethical sense, it is an occupation 
that elevates the virtues and appeals directly to 
the attention of philanthropists. It is a study of 
nature, full of instruction, that neither hardens 
the heart nor corrupts the conscience, by an over- 
reaching spirit of avarice, and it should, therefore, 
be the concern of our patriotism, to cherish and 
encourage an enterprise, that, while it adminis- 
ters to our happiness, does not debase the heart. 
Unlike the great staples of rum, sugar, and cot- 
ton, which are extorted from unwilling labor by 
coercion and blood, this pursuit is destined to find 
welcome and peaceful leception in this region of 
our country, which is unsurpassed in its genial 
condition of soil and climate, by any other on the 
face of the earth. If there be those who doubt 
the profits of this culture, a multitude of facts 
might be easily adduced to overthrow their scep- 
ticism and dissipate the eiTors they have imbibed. 
But there are those who will not be convinced, 
though one rise from the dead. 

DESCRIPTION OF DEANE'S SILK REEL. 

The furnace A. — The boiler B. — The filaments 
first pass the guides C, each thread by itself — 
they then converge and pass the guide D together- 




Both divisions are then wound upon each suffi- 
ciently to insure firmness, roundness, and smooth- 
ness of thread, and they then separate, each one 
passing its appropriate guide E,and is then gath. 
ered upon the reel. It is spread upon the reel by 
a vibrating movement of the red F, having its- 
fulcrum at a, the alternating movement bcinjj 
given by a groove in the shaft of the pulley whrc I 
at b. This groove receives a pin from the vibra. 



ting rod. The skeins are disengaged in the fol- 
lowing manner : The two arms of one division of 
the reel are set inside of the other, and slip through 
a mortice in the shaft of the reel, and are retained 
by two keys driven at right angles with the arms, 
by starting these keys, the arms slip through the 
mortices, and the tension of the skein is at once 
relieved. — To lay out the groove, proceed in this 
wise : At one of the limits of the intended groove 



iM 



History and Culture of Silk. 



59 



stick a pin ; then just half round the shaft at the 
other limit stick another. A straight line from 
one pin to the other, and back a^ain on the^ppo- 
site side, is the track for the groove. — The guides 
should be made of brass or German silver, by 
drilling a fine hole and sawing a slit to it, all 
made perfectly smooth. German silver neither 
rusts nor corrodes. 

I am persuaded, sir, that silk of the finest de- 
BCription can be produced in New- England for 
two dollars and fifty cents a pound, in the first 
year of planting, and in the infancy of our know- 
ledge. This estimate has been made again and 
agam by intelligent men, and a book might be 
filled with reports based on actual experience, to 
confirm its truth. Can it be otherwise ? Every 
variety of mulberry flourishes in our climate ; and 
from the freedom of our atmosphere from too 
abundant moisture, its warmth, electricity, and 
purity, our country is unsurpassed for the perfec- 
tion of the silkworm. It is impossible that the 
culture of silk will not become established on a 
•urc basis ; an event, from its enormous magni- 
tude, of momentous concern to a nation which 
has been drained, in a single year, of twenty-two 
millions, for this article of pride and comfort alone. 
With such propitious advantages, with such a 
consumption, and with the unconquerable energy 
of the American people, encouraged and protected 
by our Legislatures, it is impossible that success 
will not crown this delightful pursuit. 

If the art of rearing be then so easy of compre- 
hension and practice, it is, nevertheless, exceeded 
in simplicity by the art of reeling the cocoon. I 
found that the difficulties of reeling had been ex- 
aggerated. To produce a perfect filament from 
the material of wool or cotton, requires the per- 
fection of skill and machinery, but we have made 
to our hands a filament so perfect, that no human 
ingenuity can ever approach it, and all we have 
to do consists in laying a number of these fila- 
ments together and drawing them out by the reel, 
and by mamtaining a uniform thread, by adding 
new fibres, as others become exhausted. No one 
need be dismayed by imaginary difficulties in reel- 
ing, for they always vanish before a spirit of de. 
termination to overcome them. All who raise silk 
should reel silk also. It furnishes profitable em- 
ployment for young women, and by reason of the 
delicacy of their fingers, their ingenuity and per- 
severance, they will readily acquire perfection in 
the beautiful art that should engage their especial 
attention. 

Experiment 2. — J. A. Farquhar, Cincinnati, O. 

Feeling a deep interest in any thing pertaining 
to that all-important branch of individual and na- 
tionsd enterprise, and having had some little prac- 
tical knowledge, I felt that I was called upon, 
through your communication, to furnish what few 
facts I might be in the possession of. The first 
attempt I made at feeding silk worms, was in the 
latter part of the summer of 1840. I procured 
one ounce of eggs, from which, in about 30 days, 
I raised 102 pounds of good cocoons ; the worms 
were fed five times a day on well chopped morus 
multicaulis leaves; changed often, and litter re- 
moved, until their second year, when we applied 
air-slacked lime once every day, and immediately 
preceding the last feed at night; from this time no 



litter was ever removed until the little (I may add 
abundant) crop was harvested. 

The use of lime prevents any pernicious effects 
often produced from the fermentation of the litter ; 
and its use at night, I am led to believe, has a 
very salutary elFect by raising, in some degree, 
the temperature of the night air more upon an 
equality of that of the day. Not a dozen of un- 
healthy were among them. Upon the daily use 
of lime, and always feeding fresh and perfect 
leaves, and the room well ventilated, depends, 
mainly, the success of silk-growing. This crop 
I suffered to pierce their cocoons for the purpose 
of seed ; such cocoons will not reel, and I am not 
aware that there is any machinery here to manu- 
facture pierced cocoons. 

Last spring I made arrangements to feed be. 
tween one and two millions of worms : commen- 
ced about the first of June, with 8 ounces; at the 
approach of their 4lh and last age, in consequence 
of the extreme drouth and want of cultivation, 
(the trees I hired and were to have been cultiva- 
ted) our foliage failed. I had then to have recourse 
to an orchard, 8 miles distant from my cocoonery. 
Those leaves were always much wilted before 
feeding, and the consequence was, I did not make 
a half crop. The second and third crop was at- 
tended with no better success ; our worms were 
generally healthy : none of consequence lost by 
sickness, except a few of the first crop. I am led 
to believe my failure, the past season, arose en- 
tirely for want of good, healthy, and well grown 
foliage. I pursued the same plan I had adopted 
the first season, that proved so successful, except 
that of the last year, a portion of which were fed 
upon open hurdles ; all besides were fed upon 
shelves made of boards. I discovered no differ- 
ence in the result. 

We are reeling silk on the Piedmontese reel, 
and intend having it woven into drsss silk. Want 
of a market for cocoons has discouraged many 
from going into the business of silk-growing; and 
want of a certainty in obtaining a supply of co- 
coons, I have no doubt operates to deter capitaUsts 
from entering into the manufacturing of it. A 
manufacturer must see, first, that there is some 
prospect of obtaining cocoons ; and as the farmer 
is the proper one to look to for a supply of all the 
raw material, and he being generally slow to em- 
brace new projects, some inducement, therefore, is 
necessary to be held out to him in shape of a 
bounty, and that, too, double the amount of the 
present. This would, with reasonable success, 
come near remunerating him for the trouble ; this, 
with what he might obtain for his cocoons, would 
operate as a powerful stimulus, and in a very few 
years the act might be repealed, as the business 
would then fully protect itself. 

There are few families among farmers who have 
not some members in it that cannot be of any or 
much service in the field, and yet could do all the 
work of feeding a few worms. Once embarked in 
it, and conducted chiefly by the female depart- 
ment, it would be held on to with a tenaciousness 
that farmers' daughters are wont to do, where they 
are to be so easily and amply rewarded lor their la- 
bor. No country on earth is more congenial and 
better adapted to the growth of every variety of the 
mulberry, and none where the worm flourishes 
better. American silk is said to be of finer gloss 



60 



History and Culture of Silk. 



than that of any other country ; and where will we 
go to find more industrious and enterprising far- 
mers than those of the State of Ohio ? No where, 
I believe. 

N. B. I raised about 400 pounds cocoon ; have 
no data at hand what was raised in the country. 
N. B. Since the foregoing was written, I have 
called upon the Auditor of Hamilton county, and 
find the first cocoons returned to that office and 
the bounty claimed was in 1840, and 133^ pounds 
was all. I know of many small quantities besides, 
which does not appear to have been returned. I 
find the amount returned and bounty claimed in 
1841, to be 1619-i pounds, above 1200 per cent, 
of an increase over the preceding year ; and had 
the season been a favorable one, I have no doubt 
five times, if not ten times, the quantity would 
have been raised. I had, myself, calculated, at 
the commencement, room, &c. for above 3000 lbs. 
jExpERiMENT 3. — Ephraim Montague, Belcher- 
town, Massachusetts. 
I have fed worms and produced silk, more or 
less, for six or eight years past ; but not very 
largely until 1840. In the spring of that year, I 
undertook an experiment on one-fourth of an acre, 
for the double purpose of ascertaining the quan- 
tity of silk which might be produced from a given 
quantity of land ; and also the amount of labor 
required to produce it. That experiment has been 
published, and may be found in the Silk Journal 
published in Baltimore, Jan. No., 1841 ; but I 
will give you the substance in a few words. 

The last week in May, 1840, I planted three 
thousand roots on one.fourth of an acre, half raul- 
ticaulis and the rest Cantons. The first of July 
hatched fifteen thousand worms. At this time the 
trees were very small, from 15 to 18 inches high, 
and I found it very slow work to pick the leaves 
for this crop ; and the cost of labor was more than 
the silk was worth. The fifteen thousand worms 
consumed 410 lbs. of leaves, and made 3.5i lbs. 
cocoons, which, when reeled, made but Uttleovcr 
2 lbs. of silk, worth !$10 ; while the cost of labor 
and board, to produce it was $16. On the 28th 
of July and 4th of August, I hatched twenty-six 
thousand worms, which I fed from the same piece 
of land. With this crop I had much better suc- 
cess ; the worms were quite healthy ; they ate 950 
lbs. of leaves, and produced 90| lbs. of cocoons, 
and yielded 7J lbs. good silk — which, added to 
the first crop, make 9 lbs. and 9 ozs. of good silk 
from one-fourth of an acre of land, which sold at 
$5 the pound, besides 1 J lbs. of a poorer quality, 
at a less price — 

Total $5156 

To which add the State bounty on 12GJ 

lbs. of cocoons, at 15 cents 18 95 

Also the bounty on reeling 11 lbs. silk, at 

SOcents 5 50 



$76 01 
From which deduct the cost of raising 

first crop $16, second crop $20 36 00 

Leaving a net gain on one-fourth of an acre $40 01 
This, you will observe, includes the State bounty. 
If we leave that out it would be $15 55, or $62 20 
net profit, by the acre. 

In 1841, 1 produced, in all, over 600 lbs of co- 
coons, and had pretty good success, except losing 
some bushels of cocoons in curing with camphor, 



the quantity used being too small, I suppose ; they 
came out and spoiled the cocoons. We reeled but 
27 or 28 lbs. 

The present season, 1842, 1 produced 245 lbs. 
of cocoons and reeled 13 lbs. of silk, although I 
hatched worms enough, and bestowed upon them 
labor enough to produce three times that quanti- 
ty, had the season been favorable. But the late 
frosts in the spring destroyed the early feed, and 
the cold nights and heavy rains in August de- 
stroyed our last crop ; so that the result of this 
year's effort has been, on the whole, rather unprof- 
itable. 

I think we need not be discouraged. Such un- 
favorable seasons we hope may be ' few and far 
between.' I think that, notwithstanding all the 
discouragements which the pioneers in this great 
enterprise met with at the outset, they have also 
much to encourage them, especially in the foster- 
ing hand of the Government, which is now held 
out to their aid, and also in the increasing confi- 
dence of the intelligent part of the community in 
the ultimate success of the business. 

Experiment 4. — B. B. Barton, Gill, Mass. 

I commenced keeping silkworms in the year 
1840. I purchased what was considered 1 oz.of 
eggs, which produced 87 lbs. of cocoons, and 7^ 
lbs. of reeled silk. In the year 1841, I hatched 
what was estimated to be 3^ ozs. of eggs, which 
produced 249 lbs. of cocoons, and after eavmg 10 
or 12 lbs. for eggs, reeled 21 lbs. of fine silk. The 
present season, I have obtained 281 lbs. of co- 
coons from about 4 ozs. of eggs, and have selected 
about 25 lbs. of the best for seed. I have not fin- 
ished reeling ; but should judge, from what has 
been reeled, that I shall obtain above 20 pounds 
of silk. 

The worms were fed in a building used for a 
granary, 18 feet in length, by 14 in width, and 7 
feet between the posts. I have fed two kinds of 
worms. The principal part were of the pea-nut 
variety ; the remainder, of the large sulphur; and 
so far as my experience extends, I prefer the pea- 
nut. The present season I have kept two crops. 
The first crop commenced hatching the 17th of 
June. The principal part wound in thirty days. 
They were fed exclusively upon the foliage of the 
white mulberry. My usual practice was to feed 
five times a day, commencing early in the morn, 
ing and feeding late at night. The worms were 
removed from their litter at each moulting, and 
just before they commenced winding. In the last 
stage they were occasionally fed upon branches. 
I have used various methods to enable them to 
wind. Some have wound upon straw, others up- 
on the branches of sweet-fern, and some upon 
shelves erected expressly for that purpose, allow, 
ing none to wind in the litter, if it could be avoid, 
ed. This crop produced 169 lbs. of cocoons. — 
With this crop no artificial heat was used, except 
in a few instances in the morning, when it was 
cool and damp. 

The second crop commenced hatching on the 
10th of August, and wound in about the same 
time as the former. They were fed entirely upon 
the leaves of tlie multicaufis. Heretofore I have 
used but little lime, except what was sprinkled 
upon the floor ; and in some crops I have not used 
any upon the worms. But with this crop it was 



History and Culture of Silk. 



61 



used freely in the two last stages, sprinkling them I 
daily by means of a common sieve. The worms 
were healthy, but not more so than former crops 
upon whioh no lime was used. The cocoons of 
this crop have not reeled as well as those upon 
which no lime was used, which induces me to be- 
lieve that a free use of lime, at the time of wind- 
ing, injures the reeling of cocoons. The weather 
in the last stage was very unfavorable, being cold 
and rainy most of the time, so that I was often 
under the necessity of drying the foliage, as I 
never feed with wet leaves. Artificial heat was 
used in the last stages, keeping the temperature 
between 70 and 80" — the weather being such, that 
without this, I am confident but few would have 
wound. This crop produced 112 lbs. of cocoons. 
My worms have always been healthy. The 
first crop have always produced better cocoons 
than the last, which I consider owing to the fore 
part of the season being more favorable. From 
my own experience, all circumstances being the 
same, I believe that the leaves of the multicaulis 
are as conducive to the health of the silk worm 
as those of the white mulberry — and, in proof of 
this, I will state one fact : I gave a gentleman 
from Northfield, Mr. Morgan, about four thou- 
sand silk worms, wliich he fed upon multicaulis, 
and produced as good cocoons as any that I ever 
raised. 

Last year I made an estimate of the expense 
®f producing my silk, which did not exceed $60 ; 
the bounty amounted to $47 85 ; the silk at $5, 
amounted to $105. This shows that, under fa- 
vorable circumstances, the present bounty will 
nearly defray the expense of producing it. Past 
seasons I have fed in the same manner as t'lic pre- 
sent, with the exception that the knowledge I 
have gained has enabled me to keep the same 
number of worms with less labor and ex])ensc. — 
My trees grow upon a sandy soil, part of which 
is very light. 

Thus I have endeavored to present you with a 
plain statement of facts, which you are at liberty 
to dispose of in any manner you deem proper. I 
believe that the rearing of silk worms in New-Eng. 
land is, or will be, if rightly managed, a profitable 
business ; and, as in most parts of our country, 
it is yet in its infancy, it seems important to col- 
lect facts and statistical information, so that when 
people commence they may commence right ; and 
then, I presume, they will make it profitable to 
themselves and beneficial to the country. 

Experiment 5. — T. Wkeelright, Wells, Maine. 

Have fifteen hundred white mulberry trees set 
in a hedge, one, two, three, and four years old ; 
cultivate the land on each side with roots. I have 
also one acre set last year, 4 by 8 feet, and one 
and a half acres set last spring, 8 by 16 feet, in- 
tending to fill up the ground hereafter. In the 
meantime I put in other crops. Last spring I 
got a few Cantons. They flourished finely, bet- 
ter than the Italian. The leaf 8 by 12 inches. If 
they stand the winter I shall multiply them by 
all means. Wishing to learn how to manage the 
worm, I began to feed as soon as I set my trees, 
and have fed four seasons with this result : first 
year 1 lb. silk ; second year 6 lbs,; third year 27 
lbs. ; fourth year 34 lbs. Cocoons of the first crop, 
240 to the lb. : second, 312 to the lb. I estimate 



the expense at 10 cents a pound. Trees not in- 
jured by the winter after the first year ; use a 
building well ventilated ; use no air- slacked lime; 
use no artificial heat. Failed in my crop this year 
about two-thirds, on account of the June frost. 

Experiment 6. — Robt. Sinclair, Clairmont Nur. 
sery, {near Baltimore.) 

Thy friendly letter, on the subject of the Silk 
Culture is before me, and would have been replied 
to earlier, only for my absence from home. The 
late frost, complained of in Massachusetts, did 
no injurv to our mulberry trees, except in low 
lands. 'We have not been so successful the past 
season as we expected. We raised three succes- 
sive crops, but when we examined my eggs for 
the fourth and fifth crops, they were all hatched 
out for want of ice. These mishaps we hope to 
guard against next season. My house is thirty- 
two by forty feet, two stories high, all shelved on E. 
Morris' plan, including the garret, wliich 1 estimate 
to hold four to five hundred thousand worms. — 
Our silk is not all reeled yet, but we shall have, 
say something under 75 lbs. In 1841, my crop 
sold for about $350 ; only about half of it was 
reeled. Both seasons the worms have been 
healthy. I have kept a careful account of the 
expense of raising the last mentioned crop of co- 
coons, and am well satisfied that, with proper at- 
tion of experienced hands, they can be produced 
for $1 per bushel [that is 10 cents a pound] after 
the house, trees, and eggs, are provided. The two 
first are a permanent investment, and the latter 
can be raised at a small expense. 

I would advise any person about to embark in 
silk raising, to spend a season in some well fixed 
and v.'ell conducted cocoonery, or employ a per- 
son to assist who has had experience. It is like 
other trades — there is much to be learned. It 
gives me pleasure to contribute my small mite to 
encourage so useful, and I think profitable branch 
of industry in this, which may and I hope will 
soon be, happy country. 

Experiment 7. — B. Wells, Esq. Steubenville, O 

I let out my cocoonery and mulberry planta-' 
tion on the shares. The person who undertook 
to feed (A. Clcawell) succeeded admirably well 
for the number of worms he had hatched ; but 
owing to some misunderstanding between him 
and the person in whose charge I had left the 
eggs for safe keeping, he did not feed half as many 
as he could have done ; he did not bring out more 
than two hundred thousand worms, and he had 
twenty bushels of cocQons, principally of the pea- 
nut variety — all first rate cocoons. He thinks 
he could have fed half a million in the same time. 
He says that all that hatched in June or July 
were very healthy ; those that were brought out 
after July were somewhat sickly. He thinks the 
health of the worms was promoted very much 
by a free use of lime. And from his statement 
to me, I am convinced he would have lost a great 
part of his worms had he not used lime freely, as 
he suffered the filth and rubbish to remain too 
long without cleaning. From the little experi- 
ence I have had in feeding, and from extensive 
information by correspondence and otherwise, I 
have the greatest confidence in the ultimate suc- 
cess of the silk culture in the United States, and, 



62 



History and Culture of Silk. 



particularly, in Ohio. Our soil and climate are 
well adapted, both to the culture of the mulberry 
and rearing the worms. I don't view it as a 
business for speculation. I believe it will be a 
moderately profitable business, with but little out- 
lay or capital. It will add to the productive la- 
bor of the country, through a class of laborers 
that now have generally no employment — I mean 
old and feeble persons of both sexes, and children. 
But it is a new business with us, and our peOfjle 
will adventure in it cautiously — the greatest num- 
ber will wait to see how the few that take hold of 
it will succeed. A moderate bounty upon the co- 
coons and reeled silk, such as many of tiiC States 
give, would encourage those who are timid in the 
business, as it would, at least, insure them against 
losing by the adventure. 

Experiment 8. — John Fox, Mount Pleasant, 
Jefferson Co., Ohio. 

The time having nearly expired for awarding 
a premium of ten cents per pound, to the raisers 
of cocoons, and as petitions are now forwarding 
from various silk-raising counties in this State, 
praying the Legislature to renew and extend their 
liberality, I hope you will pardon the liberty I 
have taken, as an individual, in presenting a few 
facts that have come under my notice during the 
last three years, and which, I think, may have a 
tendency to elucidate the subject, and prove the 
necessity of further encouragement. Having had 
the honor of superintending the silk establish- 
ment belonging to John W. Gill, Esq., of Mount 
Pleasant, nearly three years, I have had an oppor- 
tvmity of witnessing the operation of the late pre- 
mium. From January 1, 1840, to January 1, 
1842, I have purchased for Mr. Gill three hun- 
dred and fifty bushelsof cocoons, besides one hun- 
dred pounds of reeled silk, raised and reeled most- 
ly in this State. In order to encourage the rais- 
ers of silk, Mr. Gill always instructed me to give 
the highest price prudence would allow ; still ma- 
ny experienced a loss the first and second years, 
and had it not been for the premium most of them 
would have given up. You are aware, sir, that 
in all new adventures, practical knowledge is in- 
dispensable ; this knowledge the silk raisers have 
to acquire by diligence and perseverance. Many 
went to a considerable expense in purchasing 
trees, but for want of judgment lost many: some 
the whole by frost and other casualties ; others 
informed me the eggs they purchased were spuri. 
ous : others, not knowing how to hatch the eggs 
and train the worms, met with great sacrifices ; 
still they persevered, in reliance upon the future 
liberality of the Legislitture. It is my consci- 
entious opinion, that not more than one out of 
five have cleared themselves, notwithstanding the 
late bounty ; a few individuals have been com- 
pensated, and but a few ; the tree speculation is 
forever abandoned, and the silk trade, in all its 
various standings and bearings, is being fixed upon 
a solid basis ; new raisers of silk are incrcasincr 
every season in almost every county, and I have 
no doubt next season Ohio will be equal, if not 
ahead, of all the silk-growing States in the Union. 
I believe, sir, your petitioners do not solicit more 
of your liberality than has been awarded to other 
States, by the Legislatures of Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, 



Pennsylvania, Maine, &c. &c. The national 
advantages resulting from State bounties are ob- 
vious, if we take a retrospective view of the last 
three years. Look at Economy, Pennsylvania; 
Northampton, Massachusetts ; Mansfield and 
Providence, Connecticut ; New Jersey ; Nash- 
ville, Tennessee. In Mount Pleasant, three 
years back, there was not the least vestige of silk 
weaving to be »een ; now look at the silk fabrics 
sent to Columbus for your inspection, and if en- 
couragement is given to the raisers and reelers, 
other places I am acquainted with will commence 
weaving next season, and in eight years will save 
millions, annually, of our specie being transported 
to foreign nations, that are looking upon us with 
envy and a jealous eye. Congress has kindly ex- 
tended to us the arm of protection in granting a 
Protective Tariff", and all we now stand in need 
of, is the smiles and liberality of State Legisla- 
tures. It may not be amiss to notice the distri- 
bution of private capital through this State. I 
purchased fur Mr. Gill, the last two years, co- 
coons and reeled silk equivalent to eight hundred 
bushels, which, upon an average at three dollar* 
and fifty cents, amounts to two thousand five 
hundred dollars — but I have often given four dol- 
lars and four dollars twenty. five cents per bushel. 
This sum could never have been circulated had it 
not been for the late bounty, which has been like 
oil to the wheela of industry. It is supposed, by 
some persons, that American silk is inferior ta 
foreign ; this is for want of a better acquaintance 
with the article. I have devoted thirty-five years 
to the silk business in London, and nearly ten 
years in America, and I affirm the American silk 
to be not only equal, but superior (where the 
worms are fed upon the Italian or multicaulis 
trees> to any I have seen in London, from France, 
Italy, China, Piedmont, or Valentia. During the 
last twenty years in London, I had passed through 
my hands weekly from two hundred to two hun- 
dred and fifty pounds of silk of various kinds and 
qualities, so that my testimony, founded upon 
practice and experience, may be relied upon. 

Experiment 9. — B.B.Blakesly, Newark, Wayne 
Co.,New.York. 

Last season fed a few worms, with indifferent 
success ; failed for want of adequate ventilation. 
This spring I planted five acres of trees ; have fed 
from one and a half acres only ; have made 300 
lbs. first rate cocoons, and have another brood yet 
to wind, sufficient, if they do well, to make 150 
lbs. more. The expense of making the 300 lbs., 
including rents and every things, has been $42 
40. Last spring I built a cocoonery, 163 by 24 
feet, two stories, and finished a part for this sum- 
mer's use ; have the ends, sides, roof, and floors, 
literally cut to pieces with windows and ventil- 
ators; have used artificial heat, keeping the tem- 
perature up to 75® ; have used air-slacked lime 
freely. Intend next spring to plant five acres 
more with trees, and hope to have foliage enough 
to occupy the whole of my building. 

Experiment 10. — James W. Chappell, Lima, 
Livingston Co., New-York. 

This is the fourth season I have been engaged 
in raising silk. I have fed the last season from 
two acres of trees. My trees are one and two 



History and Culture of Silk. 



63 



years old. The average hight is four feet. I have 
made 130 lbs. of cocoons the last season, and 
have another small crop yet to spin. The ex- 
pense of making these cocoons has been $20. I 
use none other than multicauiis for feeding. My 
trees have not been essentially injured by stand- 
ing out winters. I head them down in the spring. 
I use the ' Burlington Silk Worm Frame,' and 
use branches for feeding. My cocoonery is 20 
feet by 60, two stories high, built expressly for 
the silk business. It has twenty-six glass win- 
dows, with blinds, and six large doors. It is lo- 
cated in a favorable situation to receive every 
passing breeze. I have never given my worms 
any artificial heat. I have used air-slacked lime 
freely. My efforts have been crowned with com- 
plete success, both the last season and ever since 
I have been engaged in the business. I convert 
my cocoons into raw silk on the Piedmontese 
reel, and intend to procuie machinery for making 
sewing silk. 

Experiment 11. — Thomas White, Cincinnati, O. 
I am much gratified to learn that the silk busi- 
ness is progressing in New-England. There is no- 
thing but a lack of practical knowledge, which pre- 
vents each State in the Union from supplying itself 
with all the silk needed. From the interest you 
manifest in the business, you will doubtless learn 
with pleasure that we are making a quiet, steady, 
and rapid progress in the West. There have been 
large crops of cocoons raised this season, through- 
out the States of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and 
Tennessee. I have never seen a better season for 
raising silk in cocooneries that were constructed 
so that the temperature could be controlled ; but 
in open houses it has been an unfavorable season 
in the West. The manufacturing of silk is keep- 
ing pace with the raising of it in the West. There 
will be several thousand yards of goods wove in 
Ohio this season, and several hundred in Indiana, 
by my old friend Mr. Fox, who has left Mt. 
Pleasant, and established a prosperous factory at 
Richmond, in that State. Beside these establish- 
ments, there are a large number of family ma- 
chines in operation, making sewings and organ- 
zine through the four States above mentioned. — 
We find organzine the most profitable article we 
can make. It is worth $8 to $10 per lb. in the 
gum, which is decidedly better than making sew- 
ings. I herewith send you a small sample, made 
by a lady in this city, who has procured three of 
my machines, and is doing a very profitable bu- 
siness. Each machine finishes half a pound per 
day. For this article we have a ready cash mar- 
ket, at Mt. Pleasant, and Richmond, Indiana, and 
there will soon be another m this city. 

Experiment 12. — G. B. Smith, Esq., Baltimore. 

It would have given me great pleasure to at- 
tend your convention, and I should certainly have 
done so had it been in my power. Please accept 
of my hearty good wishes for the success of your 
efforts to advance the cause of silk culture in 
New-England, which I cannot permit myself to 
entertain a doubt of. New-England is emphati- 
cally the land of enterprise, industry, and perse- 
verance, the three elements of success in every 
kind of business ; and you must, therefore, sue- 
ceed in the silk culture. If the whole country 



were blessed with these essential elements of pros- 
perity, we sliould perhaps become loo happy a 
people for this world — certainly, we should pre- 
sent to the world at large a spectacle of wealth, 
of happiness, and of greatness, such as has never 
yet been exhibited by any people. Unfortunately 
for the cause of silk culture in the South, this 
spirit is wanting ; or if it exists, it is of a too fit- 
ful and hesitating a nature to succeed. Probably 
like the human constitution, it is debilitated by 
the climate ! Certainly it no where. South of 
' Mas(>n and Dixon's line,' exhibits that indomit- 
able energy and endurance, that it does at the 
North and East. Hence, since the explosion, or 
rather the evaporation of the mania, the silk cul- 
ture has been declining in the South, till the pre- 
sent year, when very few persons were to be found 
engaged in it at all, and lew of them have done 
much to a profit. I am sorry to be obliged to give 
you this melancholy picture of our Southern ope- 
rations; but truth requires it. This decline in 
the business in this region is not attributable to 
any discovery of the business being impracticable 
or unprofitable ; but rather to the depression of 
spirits, consequent upon the prostration of hopes 
in the multicauiis speculation. The people had 
been led to expect enormous profits in the tree 
trade, and when thatfailed, they could not endure 
the moderate, (though still fair) profits to be de- 
rived from making silk. Even in the silk busi- 
ness, they had been taught to believe they could 
make ten to twenty times as much as could be 
calculated upon in any other business, and when 
upon trial, only a fair living profit resulted, it was 
treated with contempt. But enough of this. I 
have not a doubt that the silk business is a profit- 
able one, and that it will yet, sooner or later, be- 
come one of our staple interests. 

The late action of Congress in establishing the 
Tariff will be of great benefit to the silk business. 
There are some defects in the Tariff, which I hope 
to see removed at an early day. The duty of 50 
cents a pound on raw silk is too low, and does not 
indicate a desire to foster the raising of the raw 
material in this country. The duty ought to have 
been one dollar a pound, and that would have 
been not exceeding 25 per cent. That would not 
have been more than a reasonable duty, and could 
scarcely have been considered a protection. Still 
it would have been a fair encouragement to the 
American producer. I hope yet to see this item 
of the Tariff altered, as indicated. The manufac- 
turer of silk is handsomely encouraged. His 
work is protected by a good duty on foreign labor, 
wliile he is enabled to import his raw material at 
a very low duty ; thus he is favored doubly. Thig 
will also reach to the advantage of the silk grower 
ultimately, for it will encourage the establish- 
ment of manufactories in our own country, and 
then we shall have a ready market for our ravir 
material at our doors, and this ready market and 
cheapness of access to it, will be equal to a heavier 
duty on foreign raw material. The duty of $1 50 
per ib. on low priced plain silks, is also too low ; 
because that is the very article we can and shall 
first make. The highest duty on fine goods is of 
itself moderate, even as a strictly revenue duty. 
Two dollars and fifty cents on a pound of the finer 
qualities of silk is scarcely more than twenty per 
cent, on their value, if as much. Twenty dol- 



History and Culture of Silk. 



lars worth of the finer quaUties of silk goods will 
scarcely weigh a pound of sixteen ounces. Sew- 
ing silk is very handsomely protected, and it is 
the only article of silk that can be said to be so. 
Still, as a whole, we have reason to be thankful 
for the Tariff. Although at first sight it seems 
to indicate a carelessness of our interests, on the 
part of Congress, we shall find in the end, that it 
w'dl be like the judicious practice of a good phy- 
sician. He does not administer stimulants to the 
debilitated constitution, and thus hurry it to a state 
of artificial excitement, but rather cautiously plies 
it with gentle tonics and exercise, and thus grad- 
ually raises it to the natural standard of robust 
health. Let us, therefore, congratulate ourselves 
that, if we have not got all we wanted, and as 
aoon as we desired, we have got that which is 
very good now, vastly better than what we had 
before, and very probably that which we shall ul- 
timately find to be all we want. Let every silk 
grower consider this subject in its proper light. — 
Let them reflect that the foreign grower of raw 
silk has to pay now 50 cents a pound duty, insur- 
ance, and the profits of shipping houses, on his 
pound of raw silk in addition to the cost of pro- 
duction, before he can bring it in competition 
with our pound of raw silk, which has none of 
these charges to pay. So with all other kinds of 
silk goods. Then may he comprehend how far 
the Tariff" will be of benefit to him. In conclusion 
of this subject, I must be permitted to say, that 
wc can now go to work with a prospect most 
flattering, and that if we do not now succeed, it 
will be because of our own want of energy and per- 
severance. 

I made a suggestion, I believe, to the conven- 
tion of silk-growers held at Northampton last year, 
in relation to killing the chrysalis by means of the 
air pump. This is a most interesting subject con- 
nected with the silk business, and I hope it will 
be taken into consideration by some practical op- 
erator, that its value or worthlessness may be es- 
tablished. If it prove successful, it will be a most 
valuable improvement. The injury done lo the 
fibre by the old process of baking the cocoons, has 
caused that plan to be abandoned in this country. 
Steaming does not injure the fibre, but it is apt 
to render the reeling more difiicult, by so loosen- 
ing the texture of the cocoon as to cause the fibre 
to tangle. Killing the chrysalis by exposing the 
cocoons to the sun, is a very defective process, 
as its thorough efTect is uncertain, and much loss 
is often occasioned by the moths coming out after 
they are supposed to be dead. Then again this 
process has the disadvantage of hardening the 
gum and thus making the reeling more difficult, 
as is the case in all the different processes in 
which heat is the agent. Killing the chrysalis 
with camphor, as detailedintheSilk Journal, and 
first suggested by Miss Rapp, of Econom}', Pa., 
is the best and least objectionable of all the pro- 
cesses heretofore used. When properly applied, 
the camphor effectually accomplishes the object, 
■without inflicting the slightest injury on the silk 
fibre, and at the same time, leaves the cocoons in 
the same state for reeling, that they were in before 
the chrysalis was killed. Tiie cocoons reel as 
easily as they did when fresh spun. Still, if the 
air pump will answer the purpose, it is certainly 
better than even camphor, for it can be used with- 



out any restraint, is at all times at command, and 
must inevitably be effectual ; for it is impossible 
that any insect or animal can live in a vacuum, 
or in any situation approaching one. We know 
that sealing up silk worm eggs in a bottle, there- 
by excluding fresh air, kills them ; so it does all 
kinds of seeds. Then, certainly, if exclusion of 
fresh air will kill silk worm eggs, depriving the 
chrysalis of air altogether, it must also kill that,and 
that very speedily. This process would certainly 
leave the cocoons in precisely the same state it 
found them, so far as the silk fibre and facility of 
reeling are concerned. The apparatus is not ex- 
pensive, and when once obtained will last any 
length of time. All that is required, is a large 
box to contain, say ten bushels, so constructed as 
to be air tight when closed ; and an exhausting 
pump, or air pump, by the aid of which the air 
can be pumped out of the box. Any common 
carpenter can make the box, and I am sure any 
common pump maker can make the pump suffi- 
ciently perfect for the purpose. I regret very 
much that my health and opportunities did not 
permit me to make the necessary experiments dur- 
ing the past season, to test the merits of this new- 
ly suggested process. The experiments can be 
made at a trifling expense. A tight keg or bar- 
rel can be used for the box, for example, and a 
forcing pump of sufficient power can be made of 
the ordinary liquor pump used in the stores. 

Experiment 13. — John Moyer, Perry, Wayne 
Co., Ohio. 

Four years ago, I raised what made twenty 
yards of tow silk, a yard wide, and a dozen pairs 
of stockings ; since then, I have made all into 
sewing silk, till 1840. I made one thousand 
skeins of sewing silk, and sent three pounds and 
fifteen ounces of raw silk to Mount Pleasant, to 
Mr. J. Fox and J. W. Gill, to manufacture into 
dress silk. We received fifteen and a half yards, 
after the manufacturer had taken his pay from 
the piece. It was worth two dollars per yard. — 
The silk was reeled sixteen fibres to the thread. — 
Mr. Fox said it ought to have been reeled only 
ten fibres to the thread, and it would have made 
handsome cloth. Of this, I will enclose you a 
sample, to let you see what Ohio can do. I have 
five acres of white mulberry trees, from five to 
silk years old, and five acres of multicaulis, most- 
ly planted last year. Last season, 1841, I fed 
between eighty to one hundred thousand worms. 
The first hatching, June 3, made one hundred 
and fifty pounds of cocoons, the worms healthy. 
The second crop, only eleven days later, was not 
so healthy ; they died in their last age, with the 
muscardine, though I used lime, but perhaps not 
enough. In all, we raised two hundred and 
twenty-five pounds of cocoons. We had to feed 
the first crop, and most of the second crop, on the 
white mulberry, the dry season having kept the 
multicaulis back very late. Last spring I built a 
cocoonery, forty-two by twenty feet, two stories. 
I expect to have foliage to feed from five hundred 
thousand to one million of worms next season. — 
Mr. G. Dulin raised nineteen pounds cocoons ; 
and a number of others raised more or less in the 
county. This winter we make all into sewing 
silk. We have made fifteen hundred skeins, and 
are about half tlurough. We sell to the merchants 



History and Culture of Silk. 



65 



at five cents per skein, which makes one dollar 
per ounce. Our machinery is simple, cheap, and 
easily made. One reel, worth four dollars, and a 
twisting machine, worth ten or twelve dollars, on 
which we can make three hundred skeins per 
week, worth fifteen dollars. Two females and 
two boys can do this. 

Experiment 14. — Ehenezer Wood,, Esq., Jeffer- 
son, Ashtabula Co., Ohio. 

I have just received a letter from S. F. Taylor, 
Esq., a member of the House, making certain in- 
quiries in relation to the silk business, and re- 
questing an answer returned to you. 

FeeUng a deep interest (aside from all pecunia- 
ry considerations) in the culture and manufac- 
ture of silk, it is with much pleasure I comply, so 
far as I am able, with his requests. 

In regard to our soil and climate being adapted 
to the growth of the mulberry I would say, that 
among those who have given attention to the 
subject for the last four or five years, 1 be. 
lieve, there is but one opinion, and that is, both 
are adapted to its growth. It is said by many, 
whose opinions are entitled to much respect, that 
the whole United States is admirably adapted to 
its growth. But if I may be allowed to differ 
in opinion, I should say that Maine is too 
far north — not but the mulberry would grow 
well there, but the seasons are too short to in- 
sure profit. 

The unbelief and discordant opinions about our 
climate emd soil being adapted to the growth of 
the mulberry, have grown out of peculiar circum- 
stances. In the winter of 1839, large contracts 
were made by speculators for mulberries, to be 
delivered in the succeeding fall. They were 
made by speculators — men who never cultivated 
a tree, or ever intended to. They depended, for 
supply, to fill their contracts, on purchases. Of 
course it was their interest to buy cheap. They 
then went at it, pen in hand, to write down the 
character of the mulberry, and even went so far 
as to employ an Englishman, a gentleman of ta- 
lents, to write for them. His communications 
were sent to Philadelphia for publication, and 
from thence, together with others of the kind, 
spread all over the Union. Add to this, after the 
speculation began to decline, some of the real 
producers of the tree chimed in and told the same 
story, in order to make sale of another and new 
variety. Hence, have arisen most of the doubts 
and fears that our soil and cUmate are not adapt- 
ed to its growth. I speak of the morus multicau- 
lis, for I considered it well settled that we shall 
mostly, if not altogether, depend on that tree for 
silk. I have cultivated it for five years on clay 
and clay loam soil. At first, for the want of in- 
formation, I did not succeed well, but not so now 
— any soil or chmate which is good for Indian 
corn is also good for mulberry. 

In regard to the effect of our climate upon the 
health of the worm, I have to remark that they 
want just such an atmosphere as we ourselves do. 
Give them good air, plenty of food, and occasion- 
eJly a sprinkUngof lime, and we may promise our- 
selves a good crop of cocoons. That we have 
good air in Ohio no one doubts; and that we 
have rich low land — rich in vegetable matter, go- 
ing to decay, acted upon by chemical laws, gene- 



rating poisonous gases, thereby producing a sick- 
ly atmosphere, wiU also be admitted ; but all ex- 
perience and science tells us, that its improve- 
ment keeps pace with that made by the axe and 
plough. Hence, we may look forward to a time 
when every section of the State will be adapted 
to the silk business. But how to give the worms 
good air is a subject on which much thought and 
i attention has been bestowed, great improvements 
made, and, no doubt, much yet to be learned. 

In order to insure the greatest profit, all wish 
to feed as many on a square foot as will answer ; 
but how many ? What should they be fed on ? — 
whether shelves, hurdles, straw, sticks, &c., are 
subjects about which time and experience will 
teach us. There have been, as might be expect- 
ed, many failures and disappointments ; some 
have given up the business as not practicable, and 
of course discouraged others. Hence the neces- 
sity of legislative encouragement. But with our 
present knowledge and improvement, we have 
every reason to believe we shall realize full suc- 
cess ; and with legislative encouragement for a 
few years, we believe we shall triumph over aU 
difficulty, and add millions to the wealth of the 
State, and have plenty where now poverty reigns. 

Here I should further remark, that I believe 
most of those who have given that attention to 
the subject the business required, have succeeded 
fully equal to their expectations. All, I believe, 
have made more or less mistakes, but they are 
becoming less liable to do so as we improve in 
knowledge on the subject. It is not to be suppo- 
sed that all will succed equally well — that is not 
the fact in any business. 

Considering our infancy in the business, and the 
advances we have made, in some respect even 
beyond that experienced In the old world, our pros- 
pects are truly encouraging. We learn from the 
best authority, from gentlemen who have been to 
France and Italy, and taken great pains to ob- 
tain information in relation to the silk business, 
that in those countries it is usual for them to 
lose from twenty-five to fifty per cent, of their 
worms by disease and sickness. I have no doubt 
but that in a very few years it will be thought by 
us quite a loss to lose ten per cent. Some have 
succeeded so well, the past season, they tell us 
their loss will not exceed one per cent. My loss, 
I think, was about five per cent. 

Thus far my remarks have been confined to the 
production of the raw article. 

In reference to the inquiry, " whether such 
improvements have been made in machinery, &c. 
as warrant the belief that a few years more of en- 
couragement will enable those engaged in it to 
compete, successfully, with the foregomg, I 
would answer, that 1 think enough has been done 
to warrant a beginning ; and taking into consid- 
eration Yankee ingenuity and enterprize, we can- 
not but think it will succeed equally well with 
the manufacture of cotton. From 1828 to 1833, 
about a dozen mills for the manufacture of silk 
goods were erected, mostly in New England, with 
a view of importing the raw article until they 
could get a home supply. By a treaty made with 
France, I believe in 1833, all French goods until 
1840, were admitted free of duty. This act shut 
down their gates, and vetoed their whole opera- 
tions. It is believed that with the Tariff of 1841, 



66 



History and Culture of Silk. 



they will be able to put their machinery in mo- 
tion as soon as we can give them the raw mate- 
rial, and that new establishments will spring up 
as fast as we can give them the raw article to 
manufacture. 

As a specimen of what may be done in almost 
every family in the State, I send you a sample 
made in my family, by my daughters, said by 
those competant to judge, that it is equal, if not 
superior, to the foreign. It was reeled on a reel, 
in principle the same as the Piedmontese, and 
spun on the common wheel. 

Experiment 15. — Wrn. Bebb, Esq., Hamilton, 
^ Butler Co., Ohio. 

My attention was first directed to this sub- 
ject by some specimens of sewing silk, produced 
and manufactured by an industrious and enter, 
prizing society of " Shakers," residing near this 
place. These specimens, by their permission, I 
exhibited at the first fair of the Butler county 
Agricultural Society, held October 27, 1831, at 
which they received a richly merited premium. 
I refer to this experiment here, only because a 
portion of the silk was made from the native 
mulberry, and a portion from the morns alba, or 
white mulberry. The silk produced from the 
latter, was in quantity, strength, and especially 
in lustre, far superior to that produced from the 
former. 

The little I know touching the subject of your 
inquiries, will, perhaps, best be told by a brief and 
simple narrative. 

In the month of May, 1840, an agent of Messrs, 
Price and Son, (Long Island) called on me, and 
said that he had fifteen thousand morus multicau- 
iis trees, and about three thousand composed of 
morus alba, morus alpine, morus eleta, &c., which 
would go to destruction, as he could neither sell 
nor give them away. I had six acres of warm 
black sandy loam, resting on a bed of limestone 
gravel, which had not been lately manured, and 
which had been severely cropped for forty years. 
This ground had been ploughed and " furrowed 
out," four feet apart, for Indian corn. I agreed 
to take the trees, plant them on this ground, and 
give to Prince and Son, one-third the proceeds 
the next autumn. I thought the experiment could 
not cost much, and the trees, if they could stand 
the climate, might be saved to the country. Ac- 
cordingly, on the 10th May, 1840, we took the 
trees from the boxes, in good condition, and laid 
them lengthwise in the furrows, root and branch, 
as sugar cane is planted, keeping each kind sepa- 
rate. The weather proved favorable, and in 
about two weeks the multicaulis threw up roots 
at almost every bud, and the other varieties, 
shoots from their roots. The ground, during the 
summer, was ploughed and hoed three times, as 
Indian com is cultivated. The result was, that in 
autumn, my lots were covered with hedge rows 
of mulberry trees, from five to seven feet high, 
numbering more than a hundred thousand; the 
multicaulis hanging with the most luxuriant 
foliage I had ever seen. The white mulberry 
grew about three feet high, and the morus alpine, 
nearly aa high as the multicaulis, but fewer 
in number. 

When the frost killed the leaves, I dug up one- 
third, of the whole, for Prince and Son, and 



buried them as farmers do potatoes. The re- 
maining two-thirds, I resolved to leave standing 
in the lot unprotected, to contend for life witk 
the ensuing winter. Dr. McFarland can describe 
to you the exposed aspect of the lot. Few situa- 
tions, in the country, are more completely under 
the dominion of a " northwester." Winter came 
with its frosts, and thaws, and sleets, and storms ; 
at one time the thermoneter hung, on a limb of a 
tree fully exposed, fell sixteen degrees below 
zero. On examination, about the first of May, 
1841, I found that only the unripened wood and 
the tops of the trees were injured ; and what is 
remarkable — the morus alba, morus expansa, and 
morus alpine, which have been considered hardy 
varieties, were quite as much injured, if not 
more, than the multicaulis. It is now Decem- 
ber 27th, and there they stand yet, not a bud in- 
jured, the wood alwaj's ripening better the second 
year than the first. Messrs. Prince and Son 
being unable to sell their share of the trees, they 
directed mc to farm them out to others as they 
had done to me. In this way I, last spring, 
distributed about thirty thousand mulberry trees 
among some eight or ten of the most enterprizing 
and industrious farmers of the vicinity, who 
planted them, and are now prepared to feed worms 
next spring. The number of multicaulis trees, 
in the county of Butler, at this time, cannot be 
less than three hundred thousand, or sufficient to 
feed, next summer, four millions of worms ; but 
there will not be one-fourth that number fed. 

Previous to August, 1840, I had never seen a 
silk worm, and knew nothing of the art of rearj 
ing them. Finding I had such a quantity of 
foliage, I procured one-fourth of an ounce of 
eggs, of the two crop worm, to experiment upon. 
They hatched about the third week in August, 
being very late, and were placed upon boards in 
the garret. They were fed on wet leaves almost 
entirely, for I knew no better. We gathered the 
leaves in the morning, while dropping with dew, 
to keep them fresh, and whenever they got dry, 
we sprinkled them with water, and I fancied the 
worms relished them better. Moreover, the days 
were hot and the nights cold, and the worms, in 
the garret under the roof, were almost roasted by 
daj' and chilled at night ; to compensate for all 
this bad treatment, they had plenty of excellent 
leaves, and room and air. The result was, that 
they fed like pigs — not one in a hundred died, 
and about the 25th day they mounted and span 
fine cocoons. This variety run their course much 
sooner than the sulphur worms, even under the 
same treatment. 

Encouraged by this little experiment, on three 
thousand worms, and finding my trees had stood 
the winter, I resolved, in March last, to build a 
small and cheap cocoonery. 

It is 18 by 42 feet, of frame, not plastered, 
with a rough pine floor, no loft, three windows 
and four doors, one story high. 

The windows are furnished with Venetian 
blinds ; the whole is surmounted by a cupola five 
feet square, operating as a ventilator. The whole 
cost one hundred dollars. 

Thus prepared, as soon as the leaves came fair- 
ly out, I exposed to the warm air two ounces of 
eggs, mammoth, sulphur, or six weeks' variety. 
In a few days about forty thousand worms ap- 



History and Culture of Silk. 



67 



peared, which did extremely well, and produced 
one hundred and thirty pounds of very heavy and 
excellent cocoons. Scarcely one died. We fed 
multicaulis exclusively, cut no leaves, but fed with 
first with leaves, and as the worms grew, cut 
branches, leaves and all — laid them upon the 
benches like crib work. The worms crawled 
along the branches and fed finely. The leaves 
wore always fed dry when practicable. Scarcely 
one in a hundred died. 

Early in July we hatched a second crop of for- 
ty thousand, which had been retarded in an ice- 
house. These did not do so well. The drought 
operating on our then sandy soil, had injured the 
foliage very much. The weather was too hot, 
and, perhaps, one-fourth died of yellows ; still we 
had seventy poundf? of cocoons of fair average 
quality, but far inferior to the first crop. 

Experiments, rather than profit, being my ob- 
ject, I procured a Piedmontese reel. My wife 
and daughter commenced reeling, and to our high 
gratification, found it an easy and pleasant task. 
They had never seen a reel or skein of raw silk ; 
yet they reeled, the first day, one half a pound in 
four or five hours. Our last year's crop amounts 
to two hundred pounds of cocoons from eighty 
thousand worms, being a pretty fair yield ; about 
one-fourth of the whole is reeled, of which we 
send you a very small specimen ; we would send 
a larger, but do not wish to encumber the mail. 

We had every thing to learn last summer, and 
our e-vperiments cost us more than they should 
have done. My profession left me little time even 
to direct. Most of the work was done by a Ger- 
man gardener, who labored in the cocoonery 
about half the time, and in the garden the other 
half. I would state the account thus : — 

Silk. D): I Silk. Cr. 

To labor $40 40 Bj' 20 lbs. silk, at $5... $100 00 

Reat four acres 12 00 By premium from State, 20 On 

Interest on Cocoonery. . 8 00 rp^,,, j.,„„ ,„ 

Reeling 20 lbs. silk .... 200oL2TLu r. ! .-.• ] i .-^'s'o II 

Total S80 OO' Gaiu $10 00 

This is a very small experiment. Still it satis- 
fies me that our farmers might make silk culture, 
in connection with their other business, profitable. 
Their children might do the work, and thus they 
might easily realize from one to five hundred dol- 
lars per annum, and scarcely feel the loss of time. 
A silk worm lives but a month, and eats but little, 
except the last week of that month. 

Having thus given to you the result of my rear- 
ings, both of the mulberry tree and of the silk 
worm, I proceed, pursuant to your request, to add 
a few observations and " suggestions." 

First : Silk worms want a dry atmosphere. — 
Hence, the silk of China, and of the United 
States, is the finest in the world. The silk re- 
gions of France and Italy are shielded by moun- 
tain rangess from sea breezes. 

Second : The morus multicaulis will endure 
our winters. It is more easily propagated than 
the white mulberry, or any other variety — is equal- 
ly hardy — is preferred by the worms, and makes 
as good, but, I think, not better, silk, than the 
white. 

Third : The labor of producing and reeling silk 
may all be performed by aged persons, females 
and children. It is light, pleasant ana healthful 
employment. 

Fourth ; The quantity of land required is very 



little ; four acres would produce foliage enough 
for four hundred dollars per annum. 

Fifth : Our country is now ripe for the experi- 
ment, and the next five years must decide the 
question, whether the mulberry trees, now happi- 
ly spread over almost every county in the State, 
shall be preserved as a rich source of national in- 
dustry and wealth, or whether they are to be ut- 
terly neglected and destroyed, as many thousands 
were last spring in this county. 

Sixth : if we ever do become a silk producing 
community, all agree that we should encourage 
the producer of the cocoons to reel his own silk 
for several reasons: — 1st. Cocoons reel more ea- 
sily when fresh ; 2d. They are a cumbrous arti- 
cle, easily damaged, whilst reeled silk is an ex- 
tremely portable article ; 3d. Since machinery, 
applied to manufactures, has driven the wheel 
and the shuttle from the farm-house, what is there 
left for female industry so appropriate as the reel- 
ing of silk ? 

Experiment 16. — Kev. J. V. McLean, Freehold, 
Monmouth C»., New-Jersey. 

The weight of the silk in the case which ac- 
companies this paper, is twelve pounds, sixteen 
ounces to the pound, and is the product of one 
QUARTER of an acre. 

The soil on which my trees were grown is a 
heavy clay — three or four years ago, the land 
would not have produced 20 bushels of corn to 
the acre. The two previous seasons, the lot on 
which my experiment was made had been very 
moderately manured — the present season it was 
covered with what might be considered a good 
coat of marl and barn-yard manure mixed. 

The 20th to the 23d of April last, I planted a 
half acre lot with Morus Multicaulis roots, cut- 
tings and layers. The roots were of the previous 
season's growth, taken from trees that did not ex- 
ceed 2J feet. The top was cut off within two 
inches of the root, and the roots were laid hori- 
zontally in the row, about ten inches apart. The 
cuttings were from the tops of these trees, with 
one bud to each, and were planted six mches 
apart in the rows. The layers were small trees, 
six to eighteen inches long, and were laid con- 
tinuously in the row — the root of one touching the 
top of another. The rows were 2^ feet apart. 
The length of the lot, as planted in t.rees, is 288 
feet, and the width 75 feet. I expected to have 
had roofs sufficient to plant half of this lot, or 
a quarter of an acre — they planted, however, only 
26 feet in width, and 288 in length. In making 
out my quarter of an acre, therefore, I was obliged 
to include eleven feet and eight inches in width 
from the layers — so that the dimensions of the lot 
was 288 feet in length, and 37 feet 8 inches in 
width. 

I regretted that I had not roots for the whole 
quarter of an acre, as the roots afforded much 
more leaves than the layers. Owing to close 
planting and the nature of the soil, the trees pro- 
duced were small — say an average of three and a 
half feet. The present growth on the quarter of 
an acre does not exceed 5,500, all counted, large 
and small. 

My cocoonery is 36 by 18 feet, 2 stories high. 
I fed almost entirely in the second story. There 
are two tiers of shelves three feet wide by twenty- 



68 



History and Culture of Silk. 



four feet long — the shelves rise one above another 
one foot apart, seven shelves in each tier. The 
second story contains 18 glass windows, with Ve- 
netian blinds. My eggs were of my own produc- 
ing the previous season. They were saved with 
great care from my best cocoons, on muslin, the 
pieces of muslin rolled up in the fall, or soon after 
the eggs were laid, and placed in a common farm 
bag ; and this was hung to a beam in the cellar. 
In March the muslins were folded up and laid one 
on top of another, in a small tea chest lined with 
lead, this was placed in another of the same kind, 
but a little larger ; and the space between the two 
was filled with pulverized charcoal. Then a few 
thicknesses of old flannel were laid loosely over 
the top of the smaller chest, and a loose board 
laid over the larger. Then the whole was set in 
a still larger rough box, with a loose board on the 
top, and this was put down in the ice-house, so 
that the ice surrounded the sides of the box. In 
the inner tea-chest was a thermometer — the box 
was examined every week, and the thermometer 
v/as not allowed to rise above 45'^ Fahrenheit. I 
am thus particular as to the mode of preserving 
eggs, which has succeeded so well with me, be- 
cause so much disappointment has been experi- 
enced in regard to eggs. Other modes equally 
good may doubtless be adopted for retarding the 
eggs — the above plan, however, succeeded with 
me to admiration — the last hatching, the 27th of 
August, was as perfect as the first. 

July 18th, I hatched some two or three thou- 
sand mammoth white. July 26, five or six thou- 
sand sulphur. July 31, two or three thousand 
sulphur. August 19th, over 20,000 sulphur — and 
August 29th, hatched the last. Say 5 to 8,000 sol. 
phur. The mammoth white worms wound in 
24 to 28 days— the sulphur 28 to 33 days. A 
few lingered to 36 or 40 days. 

Green oak bushes were used for the worms to 
wind in. Last year I had plasterers' lathes fas- 
tened under the shelves, one and a half inches 
apart. I found difficulty, however, in getting the 
worms to ascend well. This season I used straw 
at first, tied up in small bundles and set on the 
shelves, but this did not answer as well as I had 
been led to expect. At length I threw every 
thing aside and took the oak bushes. These have 
succeeded with me better than any other contri- 
vance. They seem natural to the worms, and I 
have never seen them mount any thing as readi- 
ly as green bushes. The only objection I see to 
them is, the cocoons cannot be taken from the 
bushes with quite the same facility with which 
they may be removed from straw, or some other 
fixtures. A little more experience, gathered from 
diflFerent sections of the country, will enable us to 
adopt the most approved plan for winding. Of 
the mammoth white cocoons, it required an ave- 
rage of three hundred and seventeen to the pound, 
weighed just as taken from the sAcZcc*; of the 
sulphur it required three hundred. Two hundred 
and eighty-eight of the largest white made one 
pound, and of the largest sulphur, two hundred 
and forty-seven. The worms were fed on the 
shelves without hurdles, and the litter was remo- 
ved from the shelves about every fourth day. — 
Sometimes they went from one moulting to ano- 
thcr without having the shelves cleaned. The 
shelves were cleaned without hurdles, in the fol- 



lowing manner : The attendant had a thin half ' 
inch board, planed smooth, eighteen by twenty- 
four inches. After the worms appeared to be 
through their moulting, fresh leaves were given 
them — the attendant took up these leaves, the 
worms adhering, and laid them on the board 
which she held in her hand, and thus removed 
them to clean shelves; if all did not attach to the 
first leaves, others were strewed on, and general, 
ly the second time going over all were removed. 
Many objections may be urged against hurdles. 
They are expensive. Hurdles to feed one million 
of worms will cost several hundred dollars. This 
expense is by no means counterbalanced by the 
labor which they will save, for it admits of doubt 
whether, after all, there is much labor saved. — 
The worms will not all ascend on the fresh hur- 
dles, and if the policy of throwing away all that 
do not ascend readily, is adopted, probably one: 
half the worms will be thrown away ; if tliis is 
not done, leaves must be thrown on after the hur- 
dies are removed, and the worms must be taken 
off as they are without the hurdles. Another ob- 
jection is, the difficulty of preventing the worms 
from winding under the hurdles and around them, 
among the litter. Besides, the plan of feeding 
without hurdles is much more sunple, and on this 
accomit to be recommended to the great mass of 
persons who will feed. My worms were fed as 
often during the day as they needed it, say five 
or six times; they were never fed at night. Dur- 
ing the whole time of feeding, the weather was 
very variable, the thermometer ranged from 60 to 
90 deg., with frequent easterly storms of several 
days' continuance ; one storm lasted eight days, 
from August 16th to August 23d, inclusive. Se- 
veral storms were accompanied with severe thun- 
der and lightning. August 13th, a bam was 
struck with lightning and burnt to the ground, 
less than one hundred yards from the cocoonery. 
The worms appeared to experience no injury 
whatever from the thunder. The damp wet 
weather undoubtedly retarded them in their ope- 
rations. At such times they were not so vigor- 
ous and active, but every crop was perfectly 
healthy ; few, if any, were lost the whole season 
by disease. At one time my shelves were more 
crowded than they should have been, and worms 
would frequently fall to the floor. These seldom 
wound after they were returned to the shelves ; in 
this way I may have lost nearly or quite the 
amount of one pound of reeled silk. 

In order to be prepared for cold wet weather, I 
fitted up a furnace in my cellai", with flues lead- I 
ing up and around my upper room. I did not use i 
artificial heat, however, more than a few times 
when the mornings were a little cool. i 

The wiiole number of worms fed on my quarter | 
of an acre was about forty thousand. The weight 
of leaves which they consumed was two thousand 
five hundred and seventy-six pounds. The amount 
of cocoons produced was one hundred and thirty 
pounds, weighed just as taken from the shelves, 
without sorting or flossing. After they were sort- 
ed and flossed, there was one pound of floss, and 
four pounds defective cocoons, leaving one hun- 
dred Jind twenty-six pounds of cocoons. These 
produced twelve pounds of merchantable reeled 
silk, sixteen ounces to the pound, and one pound 
wastage, ends, &c. The silk was reeled on the 



History and Culture of Silk. 



69 



Piedmontese reel ; the water heated in kettles, set 
in a furnace ; one kettle was used as a heater, 
and the other to reel from. 

From the above statement, it will be seen that 
it required between nineteen and twenty pounds 
of leaves to make one pound of cocoons. Of these 
cocoons, without flossing or sorting, it required 
ten pounds and ten ounces to make one pound of 
reeled silk. After thoy were flossed and sorted, 
it required ten pounds and five ounces, or about 
two hundred and fourteen to two hundred and fif- 
teen pounds of leaves to make one pound of reeled 
silk. This shows a greater amount of leaves ne- 
cessary to make one pound of cocoons, and a 
greater weight of cocoons necessary to make one 
pound of reeled silk, than the estimates published 
in various quarters, and greater than experiments 
said to have been actually required. I was often 
obliged to feed wet leaves, owing to the frequent 
long storms, and the worms appeared to experi- I 
once no injury wliatever from this. Still I did ■ 
not consider it safe to feed leaves gathered in the i 
storm, and dripping wet ; and in our attempts to I 
dry the leaves, some became wilted and were i 
thrown away. The worms, also, were always 
abundantly fed, and a partial waste of leaves fre- 
quently, ro doubt, occurred in this way. These 
things, together with the loss of perhaps the value 
of near one pound of reeled silk, by worms falling 
from the shelves, would vary the result a little, 
and might show that one hundred and ninety 
pounds of leaves would produce one pound of 
reeled sdk. 

I do not doubt but that under the most favora- | 
ble circumstances, a few pounds of cocoons ! 
might be produced on ten or twelve pounds of 
leaves to the pound of cocoons. Nor do I doubt ' 
that one pound of reeled silk may be produced j 
from eight pounds of cocoons, or even less. Much 
depends on the quality of the cocoons, and more i 
on the time when they are weighed, whether in a | 
fresh or green, or entirely dry state. I could i 
have selected from my lot, even in a fresh state, 
eight pounds of cocoons, which would, beyond all 
question, have produced one pound of reeled silk 
— but this would be no test of the profits of the 
business. 

Last year I produced at the rate of five hun- | 
dred and ten pounds of cocoons to the acre — this 
year I produced at the rate of five hundred and i 
twenty — and my deliberate opinion is, that more i 
will fall below this standard than will exceed it ; | 
and in one case, where a less quantity of leaves i 
will give the above quantity of silk, two cases will I 
occur that will require a greater. 

Greatly will it bo for the interests of the com- 
munity, if it shall be found, on farther experience, j 
that eighty or one hundred pounds of leaves will j 
make one pound of reeled silk, instead of two j 
hundred and fourteen or two hundred and fifteen, i 
as required in my experiment ; for my quarter of i 
an acre did produce two thousand five hundred I 
and seventy-six pounds of leaves, and the trees | 
were not stripped remarkably close either — then i 
the amount of reeled silk per acre would be the ; 
handsome yield of one hundred and four to one i 
hundred and twenty-eight pounds ! A result I ; 
utterly despair of seeing realized. i 

The above shows us forty-eight pounds of reel- 
ed silk, sixteen ounces to the pound, as the pro- 



duct of an acre. If tliis is worth, as I under- 
stand it now is, $6 per pound, then the gross 
proceeds of an acre will be $288 — the first year, 
let it be remembered. Or if it shouid be worth 
but .$4.50 per pound, which is undoubtedly the 
safest price at which to rate it, the gross proceeds 
of an acre will then be $216. 

In regard to the cost of production, it is confi- 
dently asserted by many, that it can be produced 
for .$2 per pound. Mine cost me much more 
than this. My experience, however, satisfies me 
that it can be produced for $2.25 per pound, and 
I incline to the belief that it may be produced for 
$2. Produced on a farm in a small way, the 
cost will be next to nothing — the whole product 
will be clear gain. Now take the product of an 
acre as above stated, at $288, and allow this to 
be made at an expense of $2 per pound, you 
have a net profit of $192 per acre I ! Allow the 
cost of production to be $2.25, and you still have 
a net profit of $180. Again — take the product 
at $216, (allowing the silk to be worth only $4.50 
per pound) and let the cost of production be ^2, 
it gives a net profit of .f 120 per acre — but allow 
the cost of production to be $2.25 per pound — 
the sum at which I know it can be made — and it 
still affords us a net profit of $108. This last, I 
am persuaded, will be found more nearly to cor- 
respond with actual results. If the price of the 
silk is jjiore than $4.50 per pound, and the cost 
of production less than $2.25, so much the bet- 
ter for the culturist. But the above results, very 
nearly, are produced in another way. The amount 
of help necessarj' to attend to one acre, or to 
one hundred and sixty thousand worms, would 
not exceed the value of two females, twelve weeks 
each, and one male, the same time — indeed, I do 
not believe it would- require so much help — but 
admitting it should, the maximum average value 
of this help would be, here $3 per week, in- 
cluding boarding — and then, the cost of pro- 
ducing forty-eight pounds of silk v.ould be $108. 
And the value of that silk being, as above stated, 
$288, the net profit would be $180 ! ! Or the 
value being only $4.50 per pound, or the gross 
amount of $216, still the net profit would be $108 
per acre — exactly the result before stated — and 
this, let it be observed, is just $4 more than the 
result shown by my experiment of last year. I 
believe, therefore, I have demonstrated, not by 
figures and on paper only, but by the actual pro- 
duction of the silk, that every prudent culturist 
may safely rely on realizing a net profit of at least 
$108, 'the first year, or $180 while the price of 
raw silk continues what it now is. And I ask, 
is not this sufficient ! ought not any reasonable 
man to be satisfied with this ? I wish, indeed, 
I could have made the profits a little larger, but 
/ could nut do it. 

Much is said in various quarters respecting the 
different varieties of mulberry trees as food for 
the silk worm. By some it is confidently asserted 
that the Multicaulis is Inferior to the broad-leaved 
Canton, to the Broussa, and to the iiundred and 
one other varieties for which names are invented. 
Others go still further, and assert that the Multi- 
caulis is inferior to all other species, the paper 
mulberry alone excepted, which the worm will 
not eat at all ; and that good silk cannot be made 
from the Multicaulis, that it is the least hardy of 
E 



70 



History and Culture of Silk, 



all species of the mulberry, (which, however, has 
never been proved,) and that the quality of the 
silk will always be in proportion to the hardiness 
of the tree from which it is made. 

Other species of the mulberry may be good, as 
I have no doubt they are ; they may even be better 
than the Multicaulis for any thing I know to the 
contrary. One thing I do know, the worms de- 
vour the Multicaulis leaves with great avidity- 
grow well — continue healthy — make good silk, in 
sufficient quantities to yield a net profit per acre 
of $108 to $180. This they have done for me 
two years in succession. As to tlie quality of 
the silk, I do not profess to be a judge. It ob- 
tained the gold medal, at the fair of the Ame- 
rican Institute in October last, and intelligent 
judges pronounced it superior. 

Now I say other varieties of the mulberry may 
make more and better silk than the Multicaulis. 
But has any individual actually produced more 
and better silk from any other tree, from a quar- 
ter of an acre ? Until this is done, the public 
will be slow to believe that so many intelligent 
men are deceived, and that the Multicaulis is 
good for nothing. 

It is my deliberate conviction, that the Morus 
Multicaulis will be the prevailing tree for silk in 
this country, as well because it is peculiarly adap- 
ted to the silk worm, as because great expense 
will be saved in gathering the leaves. The same 
amount of foliage can be gathered from the 
Multicaulis, with probably half the expense, that 
it can be gathered from any other of the mulberry. 

I entertain now an unwavering conviction that 
the silk business will triumphantly succeed in our 
country. That it promises to do more for the 
comfort of the indigent and dependent portion of 
our community, especially for indigent females, 
and to add more to the wealth of the nation than 
can now be told. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

LMer of Jl. TValsh, Esq. — Introduction — Food for tlie 
Silkworm — Natural History of the Silkworm — Prepa- 
rations for the Manasevient of Silkworms, during lite 
operations of Hatching, Feeding and Spinning — Eggs, 
and Preparations for Hatching — Preparations for 
Feeding— Preparations for Spinning— Of Hatching 
and Feeding — Raising of the H^orms and forming the 
Cocoons— Management during the Breeding Operation 
— Of Slijling or Killing the Chrysalis— Of Reeling— 
On the Production of a Succession of Crops in a 
Season. 

Lansingbl'RO, N. Y., October 16, 1343. 
Messrs Greeley i/- Mc Elrath : — 

Having understood that you were about pub- 
lishing a work on the subject of the Culture of 
Silk, and, judging from the thorough and per- 
fect manner in which you have heretofore dis- 
posed of the matters embraced in your numerous 
publications, I am anxious that tlie one on tlie 
important subject of Silk should be equally 
full and satisfactory. I therefore take the liber- 
ty of calling your attention to a " Brief Sys- 
tem of Practical Instruction through every 
operation in Silk Growing," prepared by my late 
friend Samuel Blydenburgh, of this place, the ma. 



nuscript of which V7as furnished by me after Mr. 
Blydenburgh's death, to the Editor of the Berk- 
shire Farmer. This article forms the best Man- 
ual for Silk Growers that I have met with, and I 
doubt not its insertion in your contemplated 
" Useful Work," will prove a highly valuable ac- 
quisition. 

- Allow me here a word or two by way of tri- 
bute to a man of worth. Mr. Blydenburgh was 
a man to whom the agricultural and mechanical 
portions of the community are under especial obli- 
gations. He wrote extensively for agricultural 
and other periodicals, and his suggestions and 
plans were of a character so practical and well 
matured, that they could hardly fail to be instruc- 
tive and profitable. 

The value of the Silk business, viewed as a 
branch of useful industry, is now so far apprecia- 
ted, that it is less needful than formerly to set 
forth its claims to general attention ; but as in- 
troductory to the treatise of my friend, allow me 
to exhibit to your readers a few facts and con- 
siderations, by way of illustrating this topic and 
commending it to their increased regard. An 
intelligent population, prompt to avail themselves 
of any new sources of industry which may be 
opened, and which promise them an adequate re- 
muneration for their labor, will, I am confident, 
give due weight to whatever may be suggested. 
Convince enlightened agriculturists that the cul- 
ture of Silk will be attended with a handsome 
profit, and its general adoption must be ensured. 

The statements which have recently been laid 
before the public on this subject, are most gratify- 
ing to those who, like myself, years ago asserted 
the practicability of the Silk culture ; and the ar- 
gument which they afford is conclusive in favor 
of the value and importance of this branch of in- 
dustry. The experiments made in different parts 
of the United States form a new era in the 
business of Silk culture, and must remove every 
lurking doubt as to its practicability and utility, 
even when managed on an extensive scale. It 
will give a new impetus to such as are already 
engaged in the employment, and arrest the atten- 
tion of others in whom the subject has hitherto 
awakened comparatively but little interest. 

I am gratified to observe that in New England 
this enterprise is steadily advancing. The 
amount of Silk made seems to be doubling with 
each successive year. " Maine can grow Silk ; 
New Hampshire and Vermont can grow Silk. — 
Notes of encouragement come from the cold 
North and tlie warm South. The fertile West 
has spoken in terras full and decided. Onward 
we are summoned ; onward determined to move." 



±xi,!>t,ui y uiiu/ \^{i{,i,ui o vj kjiit 



The late experiments and results connected 
with the " Silk Culture," assume especial impor- 
tance when regarded in a national point of view, 
and as pointing to a general and lasting benefit 
that must flow from the successful establishment 
of the Silk culture and manufacture in the Uni- 
ted States — tliis being " a department of indus- 
try that has enriched and aggrandized every na- 
tion by which it has been adopted." 

Now that the principal obstacles in the way of 
the successful prosecution of this business have 
been surmounted, will not our agriculturists gen- 
erally direct their attention to this branch of new 
and profitable industry ? The production of Silk 
fabrics might furnish employment to classes of 
our population who arc now of necessity unem- 
ployed, or meagrely compensated for their labor. 
This would secure the advantage of steadiness of 
employment — increase the average reward of la- 
bor — promote individual comfort and national 
wedth. I persuade myself — looking at present 
indications, and at the same time dwelling in my 
own mind on the importance of the subject — that 
the United States will shortly become a Silk- 
growing nation ; that Silk will be the prime sta- 
ple article, and its culture the most profitable 
branch of agriculture; and the time thus arrive 
when there will be saved to the nation the amount 
of money now expended in purchase of foreign 
Silks, and exceeding seventeen millions of dollars 
per annum. 

Like all other new enterprises, this may, how- 
ever, for a time encounter difficulties in forcing 
its way to general adoption ; but by the spread of 
information of the results of successful cxperi- 
ment, and as to the best methods and processes 
connected in the culture and manufacture of 
Silk, the enterprise will increase in favor with 
the intelligent and public spirited population. A 
view of its ultimate importance will encourage 
many to persevere in despite of every obstacle, 
and the example of their success will excite emu- 
lation in others, until the business of Silk culture 
shall assume that position among us, to which, 
from its importance, it is justly entitled. 

I will close this by simply adding a few rea- 
sons why I think the people of the United States, 
and especially the farmers, should engage in the 
business of silk growing : 

1. Because silk ferms the heaviest item in the 
catalogue of our importations. 

2. Because we possess the means of doing it 
to better advantage than any other nation. 

3. Because the necessary skill is equally ac- 
quired, and no nation ever possessed better talents 
to acquire it. 

4. Because the nation is under heavy embar. 



rassments on account of excessive importations, 
and no other means are so sure of success in pro. 
viding the necessary relief. 

5. Because it can be effectually engaged in by 
all classes of people, requiring little or no capital. 

6. Because we have more spare land than any 
other nation, and much well suited to the growth 
of the mulbeiTy, which is worn out for other pur- 
poses. 

7. Because we are already well stocked with 
the mulberry trees, which will be lost to the na- 
tion if not used for that purpose. 

8. Because a stock of silk worms may be ob- 
tained the first year, equal to what could be rear- 
ed of any other live stock in a great portion of a 
lifetime. 

9. Because raw silk or cocoons are always 
sure of sale. 

10. Because it is a very certain crop. 

11. Because a pound of silk worth six dollars 
can be grown in less time than a pound of wool 
worth fifty cents. 

12. Because it will cost no more to transport 
a pound of silk to market worth six dollars, than 
a pound of bread-stuff or pork worth six or eight 
cents. 

13. Because the labor of growing a crop of 
silk requires only six or seven weeks, while that 
of almost any farming crop requires more than as 
many months. 

14. Because most of the labor wil be perform- 
ed by women, children, or invalids — who, though 
willing, are unable to perform other profitable la- 
bor. 

15. Because there are hundreds, if not thou- 
sands, of skilful silk-manufacturers in the coun- 
try who are unable to find regular employment 
for want of raw silk. 

16. Because the growing and manufacture of 
silk has never failed to be a soiu'ce of wealth to 
any nation which embarked in it. 

Very respectfully, yours, 

ALEXANDER. "WALSH. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The growing of Silk is one of the pleasantest 
rural employments, if not identically the most so, 
of any branch of human industry ; and is also 
one of the most lucrative, as the produce is 
always sure of a market at a fair price. It is, 
also, a business simple in its nature, and easily 
understood. But, however easy it may be to ac- 
quire a sufficient understanding of it, yet that un- 
derstanding is absolutely necessary ; and without 
it, the best managed undertaking would probably 
end in loss and disappointment. Like every 
other business, however simple, it requires theory 
and practice. A perfect theoretic knowledge of 
the business of hatching, feeding and rearing 
Silkworms, may be clearly committed to writing, 
and may be read with perfect understanding ; but 
stUl a practical acquaintance will be necessary to 
make it famiUar, and consequently pleasant and 
successful. 

The object at which we aim in this httle trea- 
tise, is to present the unpractised beginner in 
Silk growing, such information as will lead him in 
safety through an experimental course. When 
this course is completed, the learner will have ac- 



72 



History and Culture of Silk. 



quired a familiar and interesting acquaintance 
with the Silk worm, and to speak figuratively, 
will have so far learned its language, as not only 
to know, but to anticipate its wants, and keep it 
in a vigorous and healthy state, through every 
period of its existence. There is, perhaps, no 
other living creature whose life is less precarious 
than the silkworm ; but still, it is an insect of 
deUcate organization, and its Ufe depends on cer- 
tain indispensable requirements. These are, an 
uncontammated atmosphere, a proper tempera. 
ture, and suitable and timely food. With these, 
its life is almost certain — without them, it will 
not live. 

Its prohfic nature and the shortness of its du- 
ration, render it more easily and speedily obtain- 
ed than any other animal stock. Its profits are 
equal if not greater than those of any other, and 
its products command a surer market, with less 
fluctuation in price, than almost any other com- 
modity. In addition to all these, it may be com- 
menced and extended with so little capital as to 
be within the reach of all classes. 

Witli all these considerations, there can be no 
doubt that to excite and awaken a general and 
persevering spirit of Silk growing, and to give 
proper instructions for its accomplishment, would 
be to point out the surest road to national wealth. 
The growing of the Silk will require diligent at- 
tention, and the reeling of it in such a manner as 
to insure success, will require patient persever- 
ence, with aU the stimulus of emulation. With- 
out these, it would be very unadvisable to at- 
tempt it. 

FOOD FOR THE SILKWORM. 

The first step in the business of Silk growing, 
is to provide an adequate supply of food for the 
Silk worms. The leaves of the mulberry tree 
appear to be a specific provision of nature 
for that purpose. There are several varieties of 
the mulberry, on nearly all of which the Silk 
wonn will readily feed and make Silk ; but the 
preference is now decidedly and justly given to 
that called morus multicaulis, or mulberry with 
many stalks or stems. 

This mulberry v^'ill grow on almost any ground, 
but a dry, sandy loam, is preferable. It should 
be made perfectly mellow, and kept entirely clear 
from weeds. The best mode of propagation is 
by cuttings, or short pieces cut from twigs or 
roots. About three or four inches is a suitable 
length ; each piece having one bud.* The time 
for planting, is as soon in the spring as the frost 
is out of the ground. They should be set in 
rows a sufficient distance apart for convenience 
of cultivation ; and about eighteen Inches apart 
in the row. It is of no consequence in what 
way they are put into the ground, provided they 
are covered, and not too deep. They may be 
thrust into the ground, either slanting or upright, 
or may be planted and covered in the same man- 
ner as a hill of corn.t The most expeditious 
and convenient mode of separating the cuttings, 
is by a pair of pruning shears. 

Ab the quantity of ground, and consequently 
* My opiuioh in this is founded ou much practice, and is 
corroboiated by others of eiiensiye practice ; in paiUcular, 
Mr. Gideon B. Smith, of Baltimore. 

j i have known this method to svicce^d io %n estensire 
planting, atlfast eqnal t« aoy ot^er. 



the number of trees, will depend on the extent of 
the business contemplated, the following items 
will serve as the basis of all necessary calcula- 
tions on the subject. 

An acre of ground contains forty-three thou- 
sand five hundred and sixty square feet. If the 
trees are set out in rows six feet apart, and 
eighteen inches in the row, each tree will occupy 
nine feet, and an acre will contain four thousand 
eight hundred and forty trees. If each tree pro- 
duces four pounds of leaves during the season, 
which they will more than do the second year, 
the amount will be fourteen thousand five hun- 
dred pounds of leaves. Forty pounds of leaves of 
the morus multicaulis will be an ample supply 
for one thousand worms ; of course, foiuteen 
thousand five hundred pounds of leaves will feed 
thirty- eight thousand three hundred worms; two 
thousand five hundred good cocoons will, on an 
average, yield a pound of silk , therefore one acre 
of ground muU produce one hundred and fifty- 
three pounds of silk. To feed a million of Silk 
worms will require two acres and forty-eight 
one-hundredth parts of an acre, which will pro- 
duce about four hundred pounds of Silk. These 
calculations are predicated on the second year's 
growth. Fifty per cent, may be added to the 
calculation for the third year, and one hundred 
per cent, to the fourth. 

But the Silk growing business, though simple 
and easy when understood, yet, to render it sue- 
cessful and consequently profitable, requires 
knowledge which can only be gained by experi- 
ence; and for want of that knowledge, many 
who engage in it with ardent hopes of successj, 
will meet with disasters, of which they know not 
the cause ; and, perhaps, becoming discouraged, 
will leave the business in disgust. It is, there- 
fore, advisable, however the adventurer may cal- 
culate to extend the business, to commence 
breeding and rearing the worms upon a small 
scale, considering the first year as merely an in- 
troduction, or season of experiment. By so do- 
ing, the whole business will, tlie second year, be- 
come famihar, and afford pleasure and profit. 

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SILK WORM. 

The phalena or moth, which is the natural pa- 
rent of the Silk worm, is what would be called 
in common parlance of the country, a miller or 
butterfly. There are many curious and wonder- 
ful things in the structure of these little insects, 
which would be of deep interest to the naturalist, 
but which are of no importance to the Silk grow- 
er, with whom it is only necessary to distinguish 
the insect from any other, and to know the male 
from the female. 

The body is about an inch long, and the tips 
of the largest wings, when extended, about an 
inch and a half apart. The color is a dingy, 
grayish white. It has four wings of the same 
color as the body. In the male, the upper sur- 
face of the superior wings are crossed by two 
brown bands. The wings of the female are less 
strongly marked by these bands. The female 
is larger than the male; but experience will 
soon teach the distinction. They are of a clum- 
sy form, and incapable of flying. 

These moths or butterflies issue from the co- 
coons which are kept for seed, and after dificharg. 



History and Culture of Silk. 



73 



ing a red, excremcntitious fluid, tlie male goes 
immediately in search of a female, fluttering his 
wings very rapidly ; and having found one, cou- 
ples with her, still flapping his wings, and soon 
after they separate, the male dies. The female 
crawls about, and in the course of from twenty 
to thirty-six hours, commences laying, and hav- 
ing laid from two to four hundred eggs, she dies 
also. They never eat after leaving the cocoon. 

The eggs, when first laid, are of a pale, yellow 
color ; in a few days^ they change to a reddish 
gi'ey, and after that to a light slate color. Those 
eggs that are impregnated, still continue yellow, 
and are useless. These eggs may be preserved 
an indefinite length of time, by keeping them in 
a cool situation. Indeed, it is doubtful whether 
any of them would ever hatch at the temperature 
of fifty-five degrees. 

In the succeeding season, or whenever it is 
wished to hatch them, they should be placed in a 
temperature of sixty-four or sixty-five deg., and 
kept at that a few days. It should then be rais- 
ed to about seventy-five deg., and increased two 
or three degrees daily till it reaches eighty-five, 
or even ninety or ninety-two deg. higher. 

The worms, when first hatched, exhibit small 
black or dark brown specks, of a woolly appear- 
ance, scarcely visible to the naked eye. In four 
days they will have grown to about a quarter of 
an inch in length. About the fifth day it will 
cease eating, and lie in a torpid state, apparently 
asleep, for several hours. This is called moult, 
ing, and is repeated two or three times more, at 
each of which times the worms shed their skins. 
The intermediate spaces of time before, between, 
and after the moultings, are called ages. The 
first age generally continues about five days, the 
second four, the third six, the fourth seven, and 
the fifth ten days, varied, however, in different 
climates and by difibrent modes of feeding differ- 
ent kinds of worms, and many other circumstan- 
ces. 

At the end of the fifth age, the worms, having 
attained their full growth, relax in their eating, 
and begin to show signs of what is called rising, 
by raising their heads and crawling about, as if 
wishing to climb. Being then furnished with 
twigs or other means of climbing, they ascend 
and spin, and wind themselves up in what is 
called a cocoon, which is a ball of silk, about the 
size and shape of a robin's egg, composed of a 
single thread of fine silk, wound compactly, be- 
ginning at the outside, and ending by enclosing 
the worm in the centre, changed from a worm to 
a chrysalis of a different form — having spun a 
continuous thread of silk, from a quarter to half 
a mile in length. 

PREPARATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SILK 
WORMS, DURING THE OPERATIONS OF HATCHING, 
FEEDING AND SPINNING. 

In large Silk growing establishments, it will be 
necessary to make preparations accordingly ; and 
there are extensive and well written works to 
give them instructions ; but such establishments 
are not calculated to produce a Silk growing 
country. Such calculations would require more 
room, and often incur gi eater expense 1 han gene- 
rally appertains to the domestic circle ; and it is 
to the united operations of that circle alone, wc 



are to look for such advances in the business, as 
will lay the foundation of that degree of national 
prosperity which it is calculated to produce. In 
domestic operations, few instructions and few pre- 
parations are necessary, but these instructions 
must be attended to, and tlie preparations made, 
or the business will not succeed. The writer is 
confident that if the directions here given are 
duly followed, there will be no want of reasonable 
success. 

EGGS, AND PREPARATIONS FOR HATCHING. 

After due preparations are made respecting the 
trees, or rather shrubs of the morus multicaulis, 
which arc to afford feed for the Silk worm, the 
next preparatory step is to procure a sufficient 
quantity of good eggs for the operations of the 
the first year. As the Silk worm generally lays 
about four hundred eggs, it will always be best to 
procure an ample supply ; a few spare ones, even 
if they are thrown away, will be of little conse- 
quence. As the first season ought to be devoted 
to obtaining that practical acquaintance with the 
nature and operations of the Silk worm, and the 
modes of treating them, which are indispensable to 
future success, it would not be advisable to com- 
mence with more than an ounce of eggs, though 
the food may be prepared for a much greater 
quantity ; as the trees will be larger and in bet- 
ter order, and be ready for an early commence- 
ment the second year. An ounce of eggs will 
contain about forty thousand. 

It will not be essential to the beginner which 
of the varieties of Silk worm is commenced 
with, provided the parent stock from which they 
were obtained was vigorous and healthy ; as when 
once properly initiated, he can use his discretion 
in selecting. There will always, however, be a 
slight preference in the general market for the 
Silk of the white worm, on account of its color. 

In many parts of Europe, especially in Italy, 
much system is observed and preparations requir- 
ed in hatching, which in this country, in most ca- 
ses, are wholly dispensed with. But though the 
spontaneous course generally pursued in this 
country has often been successful, yet it has 
sometimes failed ; while with a little correct and 
systematic management, success will be certain, 
which wDl be better than to incur hazard on ac- 
count of a little neglect. 

It is highly important for the convenience of 
feeding, that each crop of worms, or at least con- 
siderable portion of them, should be hatched as 
nearly as possible at the same time. They will 
hatch in our summer atmosphere, without any 
care whatever, but they will, perhaps, be several 
days in doing it, and their being of different ages 
will make great difficulty in feeding, as some 
will be moulting and asleep, while others will be 
awake and Jiungry, and they will be of different 
sizes. This may be prevented, because the 
worms will never hatch so long as they are kept 
below the hatching temperatiu"c ; and they will 
certainly hatch when the heat is increased to a 
certain degree. 

For this purpose, it will be advisable in domes- 
tic operations, to appropriate a small room in the 
dwelling, and the smaller the better. It should 
have at least one window, as light is conducive 
to the health cf the Silk worm, from the com- 



74 



History and Culture of Silk. 



mencement of the hatching to the spinning of the 
cocoons. All else that is necessary, preparatory 
to hatching, will be a small stove, a thermome- 
ter, a few boxes of thin pasteboard, six or eight 
inches square, with shallow sides, and a few 
sheets of coarse printing paper. 

PREPARATIONS FOR FEEDING. 

Large establishments, which have extensive 
cocooneries built for the purpose, are generally 
furnished with an expensive apparatus, consisting 
of frames, wicker hurdles, and many other arti- 
cles which are not necessary in private famiUes, 
especially at the commencement, as prudence 
dictates that such beginnings should be on a 
small, economical scale. The worms may be 
fed in one or more rooms of the dwelling, or in 
an open garret, or in a barn, or any other out- 
buildings, but the place or places must always be 
provided with the means of admitting the light, 
of screening the worms from the direct rays of 
the sun, of admitting fresh air, and of preventing 
a cold, damp wind from blowing on the worms. 
It would be a discouraging undertaking in most 
private families to procure wicker trays or hurdles 
— but experience has abundantly proved that 
common pine or other boards will answer the 
purpose equally well, except a little extra labor in 
attendance. The quantity of boards necessary to 
accommodate a given number of worms will vary 
a little, according to tlie different breeds of worms, 
as they differ somewhat in size, and according to 
the space seen fit to allow them. To give them 
space enough to insure the health, four hundred 
feet of boards for an ounce of eggs, or forty thou- 
sand worms, may be considered a fair allowance.* 
These boards, made into temporary shelves in 
tlieir rough state, will answer the purpose ; but it 
would save much labor in cleaning if they were 
jack-planed, and it would not injure them for any 
purpose afterwards. 

Supposing the operations of feeding are to take 
place in a room in the dwelling sixteen feet 
square; procure twelve piecesof scantling, of the 
smallest size, (three by two inches, if it can be 
obtained,) a little more than six feet long. Lay 
down two of these pieces, and nail across them 
three strips of board four or five inches wide. — 
Proceed in the same manner with the other ten 
pieces of scantling, coupling each two together. 
Set them up in two rows, with three in each row. 
Connect the three in each row, by nailing narrow 
strips of board along near their tops, and about 
half-way from the bottom to the lowest of the first 
mentioned cross-pieces ; but let these last be so 
oblique as to form braces. Then lay the boards 
upon the cross-pieces, forming three tiers of 
shelves in each row ; the bottom shelf being four 
feet wide, the second three feet six inches wide, 
the third three feet — each shelf being three inches 
wider on each side than the one above it ; so that 
if the worms drop from either of the upper 

* Very many and discordant opinions liave been expressed 
by persons eminent as Silk growers and as ivriteis on the 
subject; but common sense is the only authority which 
need be consulted. The worms want room to move and 
breathe freely, which they cannot do if they are crowded one 
upon another. Mr. D'Homergue, who is probably the best 
liying authority in the United States, allows one hundred 
worms to a square foot. This, doubtless, is as many as that 
space can accommodate cousisteutly with health, when at 
their full siie. 



shelves, they will fall on the one below. These 
slielves, set parallel in a fifteen or sixteen feet 
room, will leave sufficient space to go between 
and around them. If a stove and thermometer 
are used, the same used in the hatching room will 
answer. 

PREPARATIONS FOR SPINNING. 

When worms have attained their full growth, 
their next operation is to climb on something 
above the place of feeding, and commence spin- 
ning their cocoons. This is technically called 
mounting. For this purpose it will be necessary 
to have in readiness some convenient apparatus 
for their accommodation. In its natural, undo, 
mcsticated state, the worms, no doubt, attached 
their cocoons to the twigs of trees, (probably the 
same from which they had eaten the leaves,) and 
the more these artificial accommodations resem- 
ble those provided by nature, the better. The 
general method in Europe is to procure twigs of 
oak, birch, or some other suitable tree or shrub, 
and either stripping off the leaves, or keeping 
them till dry with their leaves on ; when the 
worms are nearly ready to mount, they are set up 
on the shelves or hurdles, and being a little longer 
than the distance between the shelves, the tops 
are bent over in a bracing position, and so con- 
nected or interwoven, as to form little arches or 
alcoves, called by Silk growers, cabins. In this 
countrj', various other plans have been adopted ; 
and ingenuity may doubtless suggest many more. 
Some have substituted branches of breameon, and 
others a combination of laths ; all of which have 
answered in some sort. But considerable depends 
on the fitness of these preparations. When the 
worms are ready for spinning, the sooner they 
can find an acceptable place to which they can 
attach, the larger and bettor will be the cocoons. 
The twigs, breameon, or any thing ©n which 
they can climb, will answer, provided they can 
find situations where they can attach the threads 
by which they fasten the cocoon in two or three 
places, with room for the cocoon between them. 
If they are cramped for room, two worms will 
often form their cocoons together, making what 
are called dupons, which are of inferior value. 

These preparations, with some baskets in 
which to collect the cocoons, are about all the 
preparations necessary in this part of the business. 

OF HATCHING AND FEEDING. 

Having made all the foregoing preparations, the 
time to commence the operation of hatching, is 
as soon in spring as the unfolding buds of the 
mulberry show satisfactory proof of forthcoming 
leaves, without fail. The eggs may then be put 
into small paper boxes, allowing a sufficient num- 
ber to each box. If the eggs have been sepa- 
rated from the papers on which they were laid, 
they may be spread in the box, the bottom being 
lined with white paper ; or if not so separated,* 
the paper containing the eggs may be laid in 
pieces suited to the size of the box. Another 
method is recommended, and perhaps entitled to 
preference, which is to lay the eggs to be hatched 



* lu Europe, it is the practice to separate the eggs fron 
the paper or cloth on which they were laid. In this 
country they are generally kept on the papers until they 
hatch. I hare not been able to discover sufficiently to decide 
or or against either practice. Either will answer well. 

f 



History and Culture of Silk. 



75 



on white paper, spread upon a clean table. It 
sliould here be noticed that too much care cannot 
be bestowed on this operation, as the future good 
or ill success of the crop depends mainly on the 
management of hatching. 

The temperature of the room, during the first 
twenty-four hours, should not be below 75* nor 
much above it. It should then be raised about 
two degrees each day till it reaches 90o, when 
the worms wiU probably begin to appear. It should 
not be raised higher than 92p. Great care should 
be taken to prevent any sudden changes of tem- 
perature. A very dry atmosphere is also injuri- 
ous to the hatching operation — it may be reme- 
died by setting a vessel (say a quart bowl) of 
water in the room. 

It has already been said that the worms fed to- 
gether should be hatched as nearly as possible at 
tlie same time. This necessity arises, not only 
from the inconvenience of feeding worms of 
different ages, together, but from their moulting, 
and consequent sickness at different periods, 
there will constantly be some well and some sick 
at the same time. 

To avoid these inconveniences, when the 
worms begin to hatch, lay over them some small 
mulberry twigs, with very tender leaves, taking 
care not to lay them so as to injure the young 
aiid tender worms. The worms, as fast as they 
hatch, will attach themselves to the leaves. 
When it appears that a sufficient number are on 
the twigs, take them up and put down fresh ones. 
Lay them as they are taken out, on a sheet of 
white paper, spread upon a sheet of pasteboard, 
for convenience of handling. Continue to do 
this through the day, and until nine or ten o'clock 
in the evening. Proceed in this manner till they 
are all or nearly hatched, keeping each day's 
hatching by themselves. 

As soon as they are removed from the boxes, or 
table, by means of the twigs, spread a few ten- 
der young leaves, cut very fine, around them, 
upon the papers, and as fast as the worms leave 
the twigs, to feed on the cut leaves, remove the 
twigs away. The pasteboards, with the papers 
and worms may be kept in the hatching room, 
till the hatching is ended, and then removed to 
the shelves in the feeding room. It will perhaps 
be found most convenient to keep them on paste, 
boards till after the first moulting ; the papers 
may then be placed on the shelves without the 
pasteboards. 

I have already advised the beginner in silk- 
growing, not to extend the experimental, or first 
year's crop biiyond an ounce of eggs. I shall 
now suppose that advice to have been followed, 
and that the ounce of eggs are now hatched, and 
have produced about forty thousand healthy silk- 
worms, which, if the foregoing directions have 
been strictly observed, will not fail to be the case. 
The business of hatching will now, of course, 
be changed to that of feeding. I will now, also, 
presume the present stock to be composed of 
large worms of four castes or moultings. 

In this stage of the business, it will be of the 
highest importance to the experimental silk cul- 
tivator to bring to mind a comprehensive view of 
the nature and progress of the silk worm, through 
aU its operations and changes during the season 
of feeding. The profits of the business depend 



on the number, size and goodness of the cocoons 
— these depend on the health, size and activity of 
the worms, and these, after the worms arc hatched, 
in a healthy state, depend, almost exclusively, on 
careful, judicious and skilful management, in 
feeding, in cleanliness and a proper supply of 
wholesome air. In rearing other animals, it is 
only necessary to give a regular supply of whole- 
some food, increasing with their growth. But it 
is not so with the silk worm. It has its peri, 
odical interruptions, during which it cuts nothing ; 
and at times, during the intervals, it eats vora- 
ciously. 

The table which follows will show about the 
quantity of leaves the worms will consume each 
day, which, if it answers no other purpose, will 
prevent the gathering of more leaves than are 
necessary. Each day's portion of leaves should 
be given at several meals, dividing so that it 
may last through the day and night, always ob- 
serving to feed them when they appear hungry, 
and not giving them more than they will cat up 
while it is fresh. 

A Table exhibiting the quantity of food, by 
weight, necessary for the Wor7ns from an 
ounce of eggs, also for 10,000 Worms, for each 
day of their lives, and for each age. 





POUNDS or LEATEB 


Total 


Total 




For 1 oz. 


For 1,0 


for 


for 


Ages. Days. 


of eggs. 


WorOms. 


one oz. 


10,000 






eggs. 1 ,, uiiuo. 




LBS. OZ. 


LBS. oz. 


1 




f 1 


0.14 


.04 






FIRST 


2 

3 


1.06 
3.00 


.06 
.09 


7 


1.10 


AGE. 


4 


1.06 


.06 








L 5 
r 6 


.06 

4.08 


.02 
1.02 












SECOND 
AGE. 


7 
8 


6.12 

7.08 


1.10 
2.00 


21 


7.10 




L 9 

rio 


2.04 
6.12 


3.00 
1.10 














11 


21.08 


6.00 








12 
13 


22.08 
12.08 


6.00 
3.00 


69 


18.08 




14 


6.08 


1.10 








115 

ri6 


0.00 
23.04 


0.00 
6.00 














17 


39.00 


10.00 






FOURTH 


18 


52.08 


13.00 








19 


59.04 


14.00 


210 


52.04 


AGE. 


20 


29.04 


7.08 








21 


6.12 


1.12 








L22 
f23 


0.00 
42.00 


0.00 
11.00 














24 


65.10 


17.00 








25 


93.00 


33.00 








2fi 


130.00 


46.00 






FIFTH 


27 

28 


185.00 
223.00 


56.00 
54.00 


1281 


374.00 




29 


214.00 


75.00 








30 


150.00 


38.00 








31 


120.00 


39.00 








-32 


0.00 


14.00 





It is not intended by the above table to estab. 
lish feeding the worms by weight, though it might 
be quite advisable for the inexperienced culturist 
to do it in feeding the experimental crop ; but its 
principal use is to give the means of ascertaining 



76 



History and Culture of Silk. 



how the quantity of leaves attainable will be ade- 
quate to sustain the contemplated stock. 

The size and delicate organization of the silk 
worm are not calculated for long intervals be- 
tween its meals. During its eating periods, it 
ought to be fed at least from four to six times in 
twenty-four hours, and it would, no doubt, amply 
reward the proprietor to attend to their feed 
through the night, as the night is not particularly 
a season of rest with them, and eating seems to 
be their sole employment. 

The periods of moulting, as has already been 
shown in section two, v.'ill happen, with the kind 
of worms here spoken of, about the 5th, 9th, 15th 
and 23d days, varying, perhaps, a little from 
change of weather, and some other circumstances. 
To glut them with food when they refuse to eat it 
would be attended with waste of food, with in- 
jury to the worms, and with inconvenience from 
its litter. To withhold or neglect it when they 
need it would stint their growth, and perhaps 
cause disease. Many who have engaged in the 
busmess, have practiced feeding them promiscu- 
ously, as they would poultry. But though worms 
may be raised and silk made by this practice, 
yet it will doubtless cause the death of some 
worms, and retard the growth of others, and the 
loss of only ten worms in each thousand would 
cause a reduction of one per cent on the proceeds 
of the crop ; and a diminution in the size of the 
worms would cause a loss still greater ; it would 
be best in commencing experimentally, to pay all 
possible attention to instructions from those who 
have been most successful in the business. By 
following such instructions, though they may 
seem a little tedious, a first rate crop may be 
raised, with scarcely the loss of a single worm, 
and a familiarity acquired with the nature of the 
worms, which will render all seeming formality 
unnecessary in managing the next crop. 

When they approach the moultings, and de- 
cline eating, care should be taken not to have 
much food left on the shelves during the torpid 
state. They should not then be disturbed ; and 
when tkey revive, they should be fed very spar- 
ingly, and not moved for cleaning or any otlier 
purpose, until the whole, or nearly so, have 
awakened from torpor. 

As soon as they have awakened from the first 
moulting, they should be removed on clean pa- 
pers, which may be done by laying young twigs 
over them, while they arc hungry, and as fast as 
they take hold of the twigs in sufficient numbers, 
take them up and place them on clean papers, at 
the same time brushing the shelves clean, where 
they lay. The same plan is to be pursued at 
each of the succeeding moultings. 

During the whole term of feeding, the follow- 
ing things must be strictly observed : 

1. There is, perhaps, no other animal tliat 
breathes more air in proportion to its size than 
the silkworm. A proportionate quantity of fresh 
air is therefore necessary, not only to their health 
but to their life ; and in the same proportion is 
the atmosphere of the enclosure in which they 
are placed, rendered mephitic and unwholesome 
by their breathing. Their excrements, and the 
refuse of their food, by fermentation, have a 
farther tendency to vitiate the air and render it 
unwholesome. These circumstances render it es- 



sential to the life and health of the wonus to 
maintain a degree of cleanliness and constant 
supply of wholesome, fresh air. 

2. They cannot be maintained in health when 
crowded into too small a space. When at their 
full size, there should not be more than one hun- 
dred to a square foot ; in all cases they should 
have room to move, and exercise freely, without 
impeding or greatly annoying one another. 

3. A good degree of light is essential to their 
health, but they will be injured by tlie direct rays 
of the sun. 

4. When they exhibit an appetite, they should 
never be exposed to long intervals of hunger, by 
day or night. 

5. The worms should never be fed with wet 
leaves, as it will almost certainly produce sick- 
ness and death. To avoid this, always gather 
enough over night for one or two feeds in the 
morning. If then it should rain in the morning, 
the wet leaves can be gathered, and by first 
shaking them — spreading tliem on a clean floor, 
in a warm room, and turning them till they are 
dry. When there are signs of a speedy rain, 
gather a supply for two or three days. Spread 
them a little to prevent fermentation ; if they wilt 
a little it will do no harm, but they must not be 
dried hard. 

6. During the three ages the leaves, (except 
those on twigs and branches, used for moving 
the worms,) must be chopped ; at first quite fine, 
but coarser, as the worms increase in size. 

7. The young worms must be fed with tender 
young leaves, increasing in the age of the leaves 
with the age of the worms. 

By a strict adherence to the above rules and 
the foregoing observations, the result will be, the 
loss of scarcely a single worm ; a crop of larger 
and healthier worms, and larger and better co- 
coons, than will ever be obtained by the labor of a 
person inexperienced. After tlie first crop, the 
course wOl become famihar, the weighing of 
leaves may be dispensed with, if it has been 
adopted, and all farther nursery improvements 
will be suggested by experience. 

RISING OF THE WORMS AND FORMING THE COCOONS. 

We suppose the worms have now attained 
their full growth and are ready to commence their 
last labor, that of producing their cocoons. But 
the care of the attendant is not yet at an end. 
The insect now commences the most active and 
busy period of its life, which is to spin from the 
substance contained in its own body, a thread 
two or three thousand feet long. Before this can 
be done it must discharge from its body every 
particle of excrementltlous mattcr,lcavlng nothing 
but the pure substance which composes the silk, 
and that of which its body is absolutely composed. 
During this delicate operation, though it requires 
no food, care is necessary to keep the air as 
nearly as possible at an even temperature. The 
slightest chilly breeze blowing upon them while 
spinning, checks tlieir operation and injures the 
cocoon. 

About the thirty-second day from hatching, 
the worms begin to decHne eating, and crawl 
about, with their heads raised, as if they were 
wishing to emigrate to a " better country." 

Their color has assumed a yellow cast, and 



Htslory and Culture oj ^ilk. 



77 



their bodies show a kind of transparency, much 
like a ripe plum. It is then time to prepare for 
their rising. 

If the directions given in section three have 
been followed, the first step in the present opera- 
tion will be to set up the twigs or branches for 
the worms to climb on. In doing which the in- 
genuity of the operator will be the best guide. 
The bottoms of the branches may set upon a 
shelf and the tops bent a little under the shelf 
above, (except on the upper shelf) and so inter- 
woven as to form little alcoves or arches. Care 
should be taken to have the parts of the twigs or 
other matter they climb on, a little slanting, as 
the worms will climb easier, and they will be less 
liable, in discharging, as they sometimes do, in 
climbing, to injure those below them. This pre- 
paration should furnish places enough to accom- 
modate every worm, as for want of such accom- 
modations, some cocoons would be injuried and 
others lost. 

Care must now be taken to give the worms all 
necessary and possible assistance in their opera- 
tion ; and if any appear unable or not disposed to 
rise, put them in a warmer place and feed them if 
necessary. 

This spinning will generally be completed in 
four or five days. But the gathering the cocoons 
may as well be deferred until seven or eight days 
from the commencement of spinning. The manual 
operation of gathering needs no description ; but 
the sorting of the cocoons at the same time is very 
essential. For this purpose, it will be necessary 
to have four baskets. In vne, place the cocoons 
that are selected for breeding, handling them very 
gently. In another put all the double ones. In 
the third, put all that are hard and apparently fit 
for reeling. In the fourth put all that are loose, 
spotted, or have any essential blemish. 

In selecting for breeding, take those which 
were the first to commence spinning. Among 
them, select those that are hardest, particularly at 
the ends, and which are a little depressed in the 
middle. If you have white ones, give them the 
preference, if they are equal in other respects. 
One pound of cocoons will produce about an 
ounce of eggs. It would also be well to pay a 
little attention to having an equal number of 
males and females. The male cocoons are gene- 
rally rather smaller than the females, and are 
sharper at one or both ends, and are more de- 
pressed in the middle. As soon as they are taken 
down, the cocoons for eggs should be stripped of 
their floes, which would otherwise interrupt the 
moth of coming out. 

As the chrvsahs inclosed within the co- 
coons will perforate them and come out in a 
few days, as shown in section one, those cocoons 
intended for reeling, unless they are reeled before 
their coming out, must be submitted to some 
operation to destroy the Ufe of the chrysalides, in 
order that they may be kept till a convenient 
season for reeUng. This operation is technically 
called stijling. 

MANAGEMENT DURING THB BREEDING OPERATIONS. 

As success in Silk growing depends much on 
obtaining and preserving, by good management, 
an improved breed of silk worms, particular at- 
tention is du« to this part of the business, for it is 



on the selection of the best cocoons for breeding 
and on the proper management of them, through 
all their operations, until the eggs are laid, that 
improvement mainly depends. 

When the moths fur breeding are carefully 
selected, having, as nearly as can be ascertained, 
an equal number of males and females, or rather, 
perhaps, a few extra males, let them be in a dry, 
warm place, about common summer heat. The 
males and females should be in separate places, 
because when they leave the cocoon, their bodies 
contain a humid, reddish substance, which ought 
to be discharged previous to their coupling. 

When the moths, or millers, are about leaving 
the cocoons, the room should be darkened, leaving 
only light enough to distinguish the different ob. 
jects, and should be continued so till the females 
have finished laying their eggs. 

As soon as the moths come out, and have 
made their necessary discharge, but not till then, 
they should be taken carefully by the wings and 
put together in pairs, a male and female, in doing 
which, it would be well to select the most active 
and couple them together, for the sake of future 
improvement, and for the same reasons, the de- 
fective ones should be rejected and thrown away. 

When the pairs have remained together five or 
six hours at farthest, they should be carefully 
separated, taking them by their wings, as it 
weakens the female to let them remain longer to- 
gether. If there are more females than males, 
some of the most active may be taken after they 
are separated and put to those females that have 
no mate. When the eggs are laid, nothing 
farther remains to be done but to preserve them 
for a succeeding crop. Care will be necessary to 
preserve them from being eaten by mice, cock- 
roaches, or other enemies. 

There will be three qualities of eggs, which, 
for the sake of obtaining an improved breed, 
might be kept separate. 1, those of females with 
males from their first coupling, 2, those of females 
with males which had coupled with other females, 
3, those of weak females which continue to drop 
their eggs longer than the usual time. 

The place for preserving the eggs should be 
perfectly dry. The temperature may be any de- 
gree between freezing and 55°. 

OF STIFLING OR KILLING THE ClIRTSALIS. 

There are three modes in common practice, of 
killing the chrysalis in the cocoons intended for 
reeling, either of which may be used as circum- 
stances may render it convenient. The most 
ancient and most common, is putting them in an 
oven, after the bread is withdrawn. 

The cocoons, in this case, should be put into 
flat baskets, lined loosely with coarse paper, and 
remain in the oven about an hour. They should 
not be suffered, through carelessness, to touch 
the oven. If the oven is too hot, it will injure 
the silk ; if too cool, it will not kill the chrysa- 
lii. It must not be so hot as to scorch a white 
paper. When taken out of the oven, they will 
be very moist. They should then be wrapped 
immediately in blankets, and when entirely cool, 
spreail them to dry. 

Another mode now gaining practice, though 
more tedious, is safer, as not liable to injure the 
silk. This is, to spread thera on sheets, exposed 



History and Culture of Silk. 



to the sun three or four days, for three or four 
hours each day. They must be spread very thin, 
that the heat may have effect, and carefully 
wrapped up when taken in and kept in a warm 
place. 

The third mode, that of killing them by steam, 
is preferable to either of the others, where it can 
be conveniently put in practice. It consists sim- 
ply in exposing them a few minutes to the action 
of steam, without their coming in contact with 
the water. In this case, they should be wrapped 
in blankets and afterwards dried as in the first 
case. 

There is still another mode, which has not 
yet been applied bej'ond the limits of experiment, 
which will probably at some day not very dis- 
tant, supercede all others ; but which, though 
perfectly simple, requires the aid of a little che- 
mical knowledge to guide it into practical use. — 
This mode consists in placing the cocoons a suf- 
ficient length of time in a box or other tight en- 
closure, filled viatb carbonic acid gas. This, to 
any person with a smattering of chemistry, will 
need no instructions, and those who have not that 
knowledse, will do best to wait till they see the 
operation. 

OF REELING. 

This is the most important part of all the ope- 
rations connected with the silkgrowing business, 
for it is that which stamps the ultimate value of 
the article ; but unfortunately, it is not like the 
preceding operations, a knowledge of which may 
be easily acquired, with very little experience. It 
requires quick apprehension, a keen sight and 
manual dexterity, matured by experience, before 
any thing can be eflected to advantage in silk 
reeling. 

In ttie silk business, as it has been conducted 
in the United States for seventy or eighty years, 
the sole object aimed at, and 1 might add, the 
only one supposed practicable in this country, 
was the manufacture of sewing-silk. As the 
operations in this were, until quite lately, con- 
fined almost exclusively to the State of Connec- 
ticut, those operations were considered a kind of 
pattern, which more recent adventurers in the 
business have implicitly followed, and sewing- 
silk was, of course, the ne plus ultra of their am- 
bition. But the sewing silk alone, even if we 
could wholly supercede its importation, could ne- 
ver become an important source of wealth to the 
United States. Less than $1,000,000 worth of 
sewing-silk annually, would supply the United 
States, and not a pound of it could be sold 
in Europe, while we might sell more than 
$50,000,000 worth of raw silk to England and 
France, which they would gladly receive of us, 
if it were reeled in a workmanlike manner ; and 
yet not a pound of our raw silk could be sold in 
those countries, as it is reeled at present. How 
important it is then, that we should acquire a 
correct and thorough knowledge of the art of 
reeling. 

Beibrc the commencement of reeling there are 
several things with which the inexperienced silk 
grower should be made acquainted. 

1. The value of raw silk depends so entirely 
upon the reeling, that some silks reeled in Eu- 
rope can be readily sold at ten to twenty dollars 



per pound, when the highest price for that of good 
common reeling, is six or seven dollars, and the 
the more ordinary reeling is only three or four 
dollars ; and the best of these silks is, in its na- 
tive state, no way superior to the American silk, 
il equal to it. 

2. Eight pounds of good American cocoons, 
with skilful reeling, will yield a pound of silks, 
while an unskiKul reeler will not obtain half that 
quantity. 

3. The value of raw silk intended for the loom 
depends on its consisting of an even thread, and 
this depends on two distinct circumstances, first, 
that an even number of cocoons is kept running, 
and second that a full number of fresh cocoons 
are not started together, for the first running of 
a cocoon delivers a fibre which diminishes gra- 
dually in size to the last end, so that if a thread 
should be begun with six or eight cocoons,which 
should be all nearly of a length, the last end of 
the thread would hardly be as large as one fibre 
at the beginning. It is, therefore, of the highest 
importance to add fresh cocoons in such a man- 
ner as to correct, as far as possible, this natural 
inequality. 

4. Another cause of imperfection in raw silk 
is, that the silk from the soft and loose cocoons 
is much less firm and unelastic than that of those 
that are hard and compact ; and if both quaUties 
are reeled together, the fibres are subject to dif- 
ferent degrees of extension in the operation of 
twisting or throwing, and have therefore less 
strength, and the thread, by the separation of the 
fibres, becomes loose and uneven. This is reme- 
died by a due assortment of cocoons and reeling 
each kind by itself. 

It is hardly necessary to state here that before 
commencing the operation of reeling, a reel must 
be obtained ; but it may be proper to observe, that 
if the reeling is intended to produce raw silk for 
the market, which is the only course which pro- 
mises a profitable result to the silk-grower, except 
selling the cocoons, the reel made use of should 
possess certain qualifications. The thread after 
leaving the cocoons sliould pass a distance of at 
least five or six feet, before it winds on the reel, 
in order to partially dry it, and render tbe turns 
less liable to adhere together from the gumminess 
of the silk 'n its moist state. It must be so con- 
structed as to spread the threads upon the reel, 
so that they may not lie one upon another in their 
wet state, which would greatly injure the silk. — 
It should be calculated to reel two threads at 
once, for it is indispensably essential, as will 
presently be shown, that two skeins, and neither 
more or less be reeled together. 

Having provided an approved reel and the co- 
coons duly assorted, we will now proceed to give 
such instructions as we fondly hope will safely 
conduct the ingenious, patient and persevering 
adventurer to a pleasing and profitable result. A 
situation must be chosen which has a clear and 
unobstructed light. 

In a common cooking furnace, kindle a fire of 
charcoal of hard wood, as it is important to con- 
tinue a steady, or at least a controllable heat dur- 
ing the operation. On this furnace place a large 
and pretty deep tin or copper basin, nearly full of 
very clean, and what is commonly called soft 
water. When the water is heated nearly, but 



History arid Culture of tulk. 



7y 



not quite to boiling, and all things are ready to 
commence the operation, and having decided 
what number of cocoons to begin with, throw 
into the water a number, perhaps twice or three 
times the number which is to compose the two 
threads.* With a flat brush of broom corn, such 
as are used to brush clothes, press the cocoons 
down in the water, gently stirring and passing 
the ends of the brush over and among them. As 
soon as the gum contained in the cocoons is suffi- 
ciently softened by the heat of the water, the 
ends will separate and begin to show themselves, 
and must be collected by the brush and laid over 
the edge of the basin. 

When a sufficient number of ends are collected 
to compose the two threads, they are passed 
through the front guide-wires, and after being 
wound several times round each other, are again 
separated and passed through the two guide, 
wires in tlie traverse bar, and thence to the reel, 
and fastened to one of the arms. The reel is 
then turned slowly and gently until it is perceived 
that the cocoons begun with are all in motion. — 
Then gradually increase to a lively speed. 

If the water is sufficiently hot, and the cocoons 
are properly softened, the motion may be nearly 
as rapid as is convenient for the hand to turn. 
By turning too slowly, some of the fibres which 
would run ofi <reely, with a lively motion, will be 
apt to catch, and rising to the guide wires, will 
cause them to break. 

The strictest and most diligent attention must 
now be paid by the recler, to see that the cocoons 
run freely, and that the same number of fibres is 
kept up, as the value of the silk depends more on 
the evermess of the thread than on any other qua- 
lification. The reeler must not wait for any co- 
coons to run out before beginning to add fresh 
ones, as the size of the thread from any given 
number of cocoons is constantly diminishing. To 
keep up, therefore, the size of threads, fresh co- 
coons must be added from time to time, accord- 
ing to the number commenced with. In reeling 
a thread of six cocoons, a fresh one ought to be 
added, as nearly as possible at every sixth part 
of the length of the cocoon. If this could be 
steadily effected, taking care also that the co- 
coons reeled together should be nearly of the same 
degree of fineness, the silk thus reeled, would 
readily command almost any price, while from 
inattention in reeling, the same silk, though look- 
ing beautifully to an unexperienced eye, may be 
scarcely worth any thing at all. 

Great care must also be taken to keep the 
water at the proper temperature. If it is not suf- 
ficiently hot to soften tlic glutinous substance 
contained in the cocoon, they will catch, and ris- 
ing up to the guide wires, will break the fibre ; 
and if too hot, the gum becomes too much soften- 
ed and the silk comes off in burs or small bunch- 
es, which will not only cause the silk to break, 
but occasions a roughness which greatly mjures 
it. When the cocoons rise, it indicates want of 
heat, and it will be necessary to stop the reel till 
the heat increases ; if it is too hot, a little cold 
water will regulate it. 

As the reeling progresses, and the cocoons run 



* It would be best to select as nearly as possible, those of 
eqaal fineness, and they most be divested of all their floss. 



out, fresh ones must be put in the water, from 
time to time, but not too many, as they would be 
apt in that ease to remain too long in the hot 
water. Whenever the reeling ceases, other than the 
occasional stops in the operation, the cocoons must 
be taken out, as they would be much injured by 
remaining in the water. 

Particular care must also be taken when the 
cocoons are first put into the water to stir and 
press them down very gently, that they may be 
wet alike throughout. 

The silk must never be taken from the reel till 
it is thoroughly dry, for the different fibres may 
have different degrees of elasticity, or extcnsibil- 
ity, which, if taken off wet will shrink differently, 
in drying, and cause a roughness, which injures 
the quality of the silk. To avoid this, there must 
be, to every reel, two sets of arms, so that when 
the skein or hank is complete, the arms, (or as 
is called by European reelers, the hasp) may be 
taken out and set for the skein to dry, and ano- 
ther set of arms put to the reel. 

When the cocoons are nearly new or quite ex- 
hausted, the thin pellicle wiiich surrounds the 
chrysalis will generally rise to the guide- wire, and 
the eye of the reeler must be constantly on the 
watch. 

If the foregoing instructions are strictly noticed 
and implicitly followed, the silk reeled will be of a 
quality which will ensure credit to the reeler, and 
satisfaction to the purchaser, and will never fail 
to command a very high price. 

The hanks should all contain an uniformlength 
of thread, and when taken from the reel, they 
should be banded, and prepared for sale in the 
neatest manner possible, and labelled, expressing 
the quality and quantity of sUk, and the number 
of cocoons of which the thread consists. 

ON THE PRODUCTION OF A SUCCESSION OF CROPS 
IN A SEASON. 

Nature appears to have provided every living 
creature with a constitution suited to its condi- 
tion, and the eggs of the silkworm, being design- 
ed to perpetuate its species by producing a suc- 
ceeding generation the next year, were, no doubt, 
in its native state, deposited on the leaves of the 
mulberry, or other tree, exposed to all the vicissi- 
tudes of winter. Reason therefore dictates, and 
experience confirms it, that they are not calcu- 
lated to hatch the same season they are laid. 

Whenever it is intended to produce a succes- 
sion of crops, a stock of eggs, hatched the season 
before, sufficient for the whole succession con- 
templated, should be procured. They should be 
kept in a dry place, in a temperature not above 
55°. When it is ascertained the stock of food 
will be sufficient for the intended crops, the ne.xt 
item in the arrangement will be to calculate the 
extent of shelves. Suppose it is wished to raise 
50,000 worms. To accommodate them, allow- 
ing 100 worms to the square foot, (and more 
ought not to be allowed) will require 100 feet of 
boards. 

If a person of limited means and accommoda- 
tions, but being able to procure food for 50,000 
worms through the season, will divide the stock 
of eggs into five parcels, sufficient to hatch 10,000 
worms each, and procure 160 feet of shelves, the 
whole stock of eggs may be hatched and fed with 



80 



History and Culture of Silk. 



ample accommodation in the space of seventy- 
five days by the following arrangement : 

Divide the 160 feet of shelves into three parts, 
the first containing 10 feet, the second 50, and 
the third 100 feet. Hatch one of the lots of 
worms and place them to feed on the space num- 
ber 1, containing 10 feet. This will afford abun- 
dant room during the first and second ages, or till 
after the second moulting. This will occupy 
about nine days. On the tenth day, or immedi- 
ately after they have finished the second moult- 
ing, remove them from space number 1 to num- 
ber 2. 

About six or seven days after this hatch ano- 
ther lot of worms, and place them on number 1. 
The lot on number 2 will have completed their 
fourth moulting in about 15 days from the 
removal, and may now be removed to number j 



3, containing 100 feet. In about fifteen days 
more the worms on number 3 will have finished 
their cocoons, and the shelves being cleared, the 
worms on number 2 will take their place, and 
the third hatching will be removed to number 2. 
Proceeding in the same manner a fresh crop 
may be hatched every fifteen days throughout the 
season, and the space and accommodation which 
would be sufficient for any given number of 
worms, may thus be made to afford ample ac- 
commodations for five times the number. It will 
not only make those who have but little room, 
and have not the means of hiring help, to do five 
times the business they could otherwise do, but 
will economise with the food for the worms in 
nearly the same ratio, by taking advantage of the 
growth of the leaves throughout the season, in- 
stead of stripping them all at once. 



THE END. 




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